A new world, the daughter of peace
by bmidd111
Summary: What happens when a regular woman from our world ends up living the life of the most important, influential and powerful person in Naruto history? and what if she's a huge fan of the Manga and Anime?
1. Chapter 1

Bethany Middleton, an 82 year old woman had just died. You heard me, died. The thing is, right now she was slowly opening her eyes. That wasn't even the strangest part. For when she did manage to see properly, the poor woman got the shock of her life. Standing before her was a woman who she thought to be a thing of fiction. Literally. Standing in front of her was Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Rabbit goddess, mother of the Sage of the Six Paths and one day Ten Tails. But it was what the woman said next that shocked her to her core, "my daughter, you shall be called Hagoromo, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and your brother shall be known as Hamura- you are my two children, the children of a goddess" she spoke. Strangely, the woman's voice wasn't scary or demonic or anything like she supposed. It was kind and gentle and melodic, the kind of voice that a child could easily be lulled into blissful slumber by.

The girl was kind of freaking out at the moment, terrified to pieces that her 'mother' would go crazy right then and kill her. Of course, she knew that Kaguya only went insane later on, when she discovered that her children had inherited her Chakra- even so, it was terrifyingly scary when she thought of what the future held, and all she would have to face, achieve and live up to. She was the future Sage of the Six Paths, a living legend, and it was kind of scary that she would have to become that legend, become strong enough to face down and defeat the monster her 'mother' would become. The now-newborn's eyes fluttered, she was finding it difficult to stay awake. Bethany sighed mentally. At least she wasn't alone. At least she had her brother with her. And she knew when the time came, the two of them would succeed. Together. This was the girls last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

It had been several years since Bethany had been reborn as Hagoromo-Chan, the future savior. Both she and her twin brother were now five years old. Though both incredibly smart for their age, they still had the gift of relative innocence. Hamura was a boy who loved to tease and play with his twin sister at every opportunity. Being so young, he hadn't yet grown into his future stoicism, though he was still as stubborn as a mule about some things. And so it was, that as Bethany sat and watched the forget-me-not blue sky, she didn't notice her brothers presence until it was too late. The white-eyed boy jumped at his sister and managed to take her by surprise.

Pinning the girl's arms above her head with one hand, Hamura began to tickle his sister with his other. Bethany squealed and dissolved into giggles as her brother stroked her belly, wiggled his fingers over her delicate underarms and tortured her sensitive sides with unbearable squeezes and pokes. Bethany, laughing her head off, begged and pleaded with the boy to stop, but Hamura just smirked and shook his head, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. Leaning his head down to her belly, the boy began blowing raspberries against the delicate skin, causing tears of laughter to cascade down the girl's cheeks, "ha, ha, ha, Hamuhuhuhura, ple-he-he-he-hese! Ple- heeeeeee!" but her desperate pleas were cut short by her own scream of tortured laughter when Hamura blew a rhasberry into her ticklish belly, causing her to buck desperately for a few minutes, until, finally, the white-haired boy decided to show mercy to his unbearably ticklish twin sister.

Climbing off the girl and releasing his hold on her arms, Hamura smirked at the still giggling red head. Bethany curled up defensively, her pale face flushed and tears of laughter trailing down her cheeks, "that was not fair, you know I am too ticklish for you to do that brother!" she pouted, wiping her face to try and rid it of the tears that still clung there. The boy chuckled, "it is not my fault that you are inhumanly ticklish sister" he said, discreetly poking her side as she stood up. Bethany squeaked and immediately covered the area with her arms, giggling and turning away from him, "sto-ho-hop, he, he, he". The girl rolled her eyes, " _brother_ " she all but whined, indignant of her treatment. She was for sure a very humble and gentle person in her new life. But Bethany Middleton was still Bethany Middleton, and she was _going_ to whine about this unfairness, even if it was to be only in the recesses of her mind. Hamura frowned, "stop that sister" he said, wincing at the Puppy-dog eyes she was giving him. He turned away, " _stop it!_ " he ordered, struggling to resist the sheer adorableness that was his sister.

"Otouto, why are you always so mean to me?" she pouted, sticking her bottom lip out and widening her eyes as much as she could. The white-eyed boy trembled, before turning his back to her, "oh alright, I am sorry Nee-Sama, okay?" he asked. Bethany smiled softly, she could never stay mad at her brother, "alright, but do not do that again, alright brother?" she asked. Hamura nodded, "yes, alright, I promise I will not do it again sister" he said sincerely. The girl nodded back, "now, how about we play a proper game, like-" she trailed off, trying to think of a game she and her brother could play together, "tree-jump tag?" Hamura suggested. Bethany frowned. The two of them had discovered their Chakra a few months ago, and Bethany, knowing that their mother would discover their secret powers soon enough, had devised training regimes in the form of games for the two of them to 'play' now and then. Thankfully, Kaguya hadn't discovered that her children had inherited her power yet and she wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible.

She knew that as soon as they both awakened their respective Dojutsu, for Hamura the Teneseigan and for Bethany the Rinnegan, they would no longer be able to hide, and their mother would try and reclaim her Chakra by merging with the divine tree, thus becoming the Ten Tails. And that when that happened, they would no longer be able to be innocent children. And so, the girl had been sneaking Chakra training into their games, to prepare herself and her brother for what lay ahead. The problem was that Kaguya was becoming increasingly restless, and Bethany was afraid that if they used their Chakra now, the woman would discover their 'gifts' prematurely and become so enraged that she'd become the Ten-tails _now_. She shuddered. The thought of that horrible beast terrified her more than any other, but she was by no means going to give up because of fear. She and Hamura, working together, _would_ defeat Kaguya. And they _would_ protect everyone they could from her.

"I am sorry Hamura, how about something else instead, perhaps I-spy?" she asked, hoping that her extremely strong-minded sibling would concede to her will this time- for both their sakes. The boy with hair to match his eyes, tipped his head to the side in slight confusion. His sister was the one who invented tree-jump tag, and she knew that it was his favorite game. Hagoromo had always loved to play with him before, but now it was almost like she was- hesitant. _Scared_ even, but as for what brought so much fear to the girl, even he could not guess. But, he supposed- there was no harm in playing something different every once in a while, right? Hamura nodded, "alright sister, if that is what you would like" he said softly. Bethany grinned, though it was a forced grin "let us play then brother!" she said joyfully.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Bethany sat outside their home that night, staring up at the sky, unable to sleep. Suddenly detecting her brothers presence, the girl smiled, "it is not nice to watch another person without permission, brother" she said gently. Hamura walked up to her, his steps making no sound on the soft grass. "What are you doing out here Hagoromo, it is very late" he whispered. Bethany turned to look at him for a moment, before she closed her eyes and her small smile returned, "forgive me, but I was unable to sleep, so I thought I would come out and watch the stars for a while" she replied softly. Hamura raised an eyebrow at her, as Bethany opened her eyes, "would you like to sit with me a while and keep me company, brother? I know I would enjoy it" the boy sighed softly and sat gracefully beside her.

Bethany smiled again and turned to look once more at the starlit sky. "You know brother? I have recently thought up a song that would be good for a lullaby, its name even reflects as such," she whispered. The white eyed boy turned to her, curiosity hidden in his seemingly emotionless white eyes, "oh, and how does it go?" he asked. Bethany smiled again, and began to sing: _"little child, be not afraid, the rain pounds harsh against the glass, like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger, I am here tonight,"_ she sang softly, the words of Vienna Tengs song: _'Lullaby for a stormy night'_ flowing from her lips. In truth she had only remembered it from her old world, but since it didn't exist in her new one, it was as though she'd invented it, _"little child, be not afraid, though thunder explodes, and lightning flash, illuminates, your tear-stained face, I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning,"_ Hamura smiled, he liked this song. He was curious about how she'd thought it up, but he would wait until she was finished before asking any questions.

 _"Little child, be not afraid, the storm clouds mask your beloved moon, and it's candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams, and I am here tonight, and some day you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, and forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning. Little child, be not afraid, the wind makes creatures of our trees, and their branches to hands, they're not real understand, and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you see in the morning,"_ Bethany took a breath then continued, _"for you know, once even I was a little child, and I was afraid, but a gentle someone always came, to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears and to give a kiss goodnight, well now I am grown, and these years have shown, rains a part of how life goes, but it's dark and it's late, so I'll hold you and wait, till your frightened eyes do close, and I hope that you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning, everything's fine in the morning, the rain will be gone in the morning, but I'll still be here, in the morning"_ she ended softly.

Bethany turned towards her brother and was met with a sight that was just as shocking as it was adorable. Her brother was curled up into her side, sound asleep, a peaceful look on his face that the girl had never seen before. After getting over her initial shock, the girl smiled, gently picking Hamura up in her arms, she carried him back into their home. Once she'd placed him down in bed and covered him with the sheets, Bethany went over to her own bed and laid down in it. Smiling one last time at her precious brother, she closed her eyes, "goodnight, Hamura" she whispered before falling asleep herself.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next morning, the two five year old's woke up with the sun, like always. They both were and had always been early risers, well, at least Bethany was in this life and this day was no different. After getting up, Bethany and Hamura sat side-by-side at the table and ate a good breakfast of fruit and milk, before their mother came in, "good morning my children, I trust you slept well last night?" Kaguya asked cheerfully. Bethany nodded, "that we did Okaa-Sama, welcome home" she said softly, while her brother discreetly watched the woman for any signs of hostility. The Rabbit Goddess smiled at her daughter, "that is good, I am glad" she replied happily. With a graceful swish of her robes, Kaguya sat before them, "well now, what are we having for breakfast this morning?" she asked. "Apples and milk, would you like some Okaa-Sama?" Hamura asked calmly. The woman shook her head, "no thank you, though I am grateful for the offer, I am sad to say that I must leave once again, I just wanted to stop by and see that you were alright" she replied softly.

Bethany nodded, "thank you for worrying about us, but we are fine as long as we are together, also, if there are people that need you, you should go to them, help them as you do" she said with a gentle smile. Kaguya smiled at her children and stood up. She walked over to them, kissing each of them on the forehead, "I love you, my dear ones" she said, before giving them a gentle smile and vanishing into thin air. Once she was gone, and her presence undetectable by either of her children, Bethany and Hamura stood up and washed their wooden plates and bowls, before walking towards the door of their home, "are you ready Hamura?" Bethany asked her brother as she placed her bamboo sandals on her feet. Looking at him, all the girl could see was pure unyielding determination, "that I am Hagoromo, let us go now sister" he replied.

The two walked side-by-side out of the door to their home, both ready to continue their 'training games'.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

Bethany Middleton, or rather, Hagromo Otsutsuki, as she was now called, was a girl with many problems. One, she was reborn in a post-war era. Two, she was the daughter of a woman who many considered to be a goddess, with insane powers or soon-to-be powers. Three, she was the future Sage Of The Six Paths, and she was destined to defeat said mother, who was destined to go insane with jealousy of the fact that her chakra was passed down to her children and attempt to trap every living being inside a fake world to slowly die or become her slaves, while she took back the chakra that Bethany would one day give to all the worlds people in an attempt at bringing world peace and understanding between them. So you see how much stress she was under at the moment.

Her only solace was her twin brother Hamura, who would help her in defeating their crazy mother and spreading her sister's belief of Ninshu- which, might I add, the girl knew hardly anything about at the moment. Saying that her life was going to be hard was an understatement. Bethany, who was right now watering the vegetables and fruit that both she and her brother had grown for food, tried not to let these thoughts of the future distract her from the present. It would defiantly be hard, but the girl knew that she was not alone in her endeavours. She knew that Hamura would always be by her side in her efforts, and for that she was forever grateful. But it was still hard for her to think about everything that was going to happen- it was almost impossible to ignore the feeling of trepidation she felt in thinking about the tasks that lie ahead for her- but, no matter what happened, she would not give up, ever. After all, if Sennin-Sama could do it, why couldn't she, with all her knowledge of the future?

Still, it seemed the future was catching up to them at an alarming rate, and the fact that she couldn't confide in her brother about what was going to happen, only made it all the worse. The future legend shook her head- there was no use thinking about it until it happened, and she and Hamura _would_ succeed, no matter what, of that she promised herself. Suddenly sensing her brother's chakra signature, the girl smiled. Hamura may be as silent as anything when he wanted to be, but he still hadn't mastered the art of concealing his chakra- though, to be truthful, neither had she. In fact, Bethany was sure that the only reason Kaguya hadn't discovered that her children had inherited her power was because she didn't care to look. Hamura was right behind her, when the girl called out to him: "is there something that you need Hamura?" she asked softly. The white-eyed boy pouted, though his sister couldn't see since her back was still facing him, "I do not understand how it is that you keep finding me Hagromo" he said in his usual calm tone. Bethany chuckled, and turned her face to him, "well, that is because you never bother to hide your presence from me brother, and I would recognise your chakra anywhere" she explained calmly, placing the hollow bamboo stick she had been using to transport water from the nearby stream to the plants with down.

Hamura sighed silently at the obvious answer, "well, I suppose that would make me a fool then, wouldn't it?" he asked, sitting on the ground before the girl. Bethany smiled softly and sat next to him, "no, not at all- I in no way consider you to be a fool brother," she turned to face him again, "in fact, I am extremely grateful for your presence in my life- you are like my other half, always supporting me and helping me to remain strong," a soft breeze blew through their hair, "I love you Hamura, never ever doubt your worth in my eyes, because to me, you are everything I've ever needed to help me remain strong- you are my brother, my support, my best friend," the white-eyed boy looked slightly shocked, "without you brother, my life would be unbearably lonely and dark" she explained, closing her eyes, "please, do not ever think that you are worthless in my eyes, because nothing could be further from the truth," she paused, opening her eyes, and smiling at the only blood related sibling she'd ever had, "I love you Hamura, never ever doubt that" she repeated, trying to get the boy to understand just how important he was to her, how precious.

They were both silent for a while, before Bethany stood, brushing her kimono off and smiling down at her still seated sibling, "well, how about we go for a walk in the woods, I know I would like to do some exploring- what about you brother? Do you think you are up for an adventure?" she asked, a small grin now lighting her face. Hamura chuckled slightly- just about as close as he would come to an actual laugh, "I would think so sister, a walk would defiantly do us both some good" he replied. And so, the two started off into the forest's that surrounded their home.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The two siblings walked silently, side by side, the beauty of nature all around them. The air was sweet with the clean scent of trees and wild flowers, and the silence that surrounded them didn't deter either Bethany or Hamura in the slightest. Everything was quiet and serene at the moment, and it was a wondrous thing. The only sound that echoed in the air was the crunch of the children's sandals on the ground and the soft rustling of their robes. Neither felt the need to talk and disrupt the peacefulness that surrounded them, both content to just enjoy each other's company. Bethany breathed in deeply as she walked beside her brother, why couldn't the world be like this all the time? She wondered; as she felt the peacefulness that surrounded them calm her worried thoughts of the future. For now, this was all there was.

Quite suddenly, the peace was shattered as something foul blasted through the air. Both children stopped dead in their tracks, feeling the dark, twisted nature of the creature that approached them at an alarming pace. Hamura, to his credit, didn't show his fear outwardly, while Bethany only clenched her jaw, both hiding their terror of this _thing,_ whatever it was with the expertise of experienced war veterans. That was when they saw it. Dark purple flesh, that exuded an aura of death and decay, sharp, deadly claws that could kill a person within an instant of a second, bald with sunken black eyes, the vaguely human-like creature stared at them with a dark and horrible hatred that sent near invisible shivers up their spines. "W **e** ll, we **l** l, **w** el **l** , w **ou** ld **y** o **u** lo **o** k at **th** a **t** , it **mu** st be **my** lu **ck** y day. **The** chil **dren** of the **Ra** bbit **God** de **ss** st **and** befo **re me** \- no **w, I** will fina **lly** get the **chan** ce to have my **revenge** for wh **at** your **moth** er did to me **all those yea** rs a **go** " it said in a distorted voice, one that Bethany felt sick at the sound of.

Taking a deep breath in, the future wielder of the Rinnegan stared at the monster impassively. "And who might you be?" she asked in as calm a tone of voice as she could. The monster snarled, showing decayed yellow and black teeth that stank of rot, "I **am** a form **er foll** ower of **you** r mo **the** r's, **I ser** ved he **r we** ll during **my** lif **et** im **e, but** she betr **ay** ed me, **and to** ok my life **force fro** m me- an **d now** ," it paused, glaring at the two children horribly, "I will **take eve** rything fr **om he** r as **she** did **fro** m **me** " it lunged at them, and Bethany and Hamura leapt away from each other to avoid it's attack. Hamura glared at the monster as he landed on the ground again, "well, Hagromo, it looks like we have no choice other than to fight this creature" he said impassively. Bethany nodded, "hai, it would seem so Hamura" she replied, preparing for her first battle of many.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Despite its seeming frailness, the monster was incredibly strong. Even so, the two five year olds were able to hold their own. Hey, you don't get to be a child of the Rabbit Goddess and not get anything for your troubles. The power of their chakra was incredibly potent, and despite not being trained very well, they could still fight something like this. Even so, within a few hours, the two siblings were getting tired. They weren't yet at the level of strength they would need for many of their battles in the future, and they were still very inexperienced. Suddenly something happened that would cause everything to change. The monster lunged at Bethany, intending to end her life.

The girl could only stare in horror as her death loomed closer. But, this couldn't happen, she was- she was supposed to be the saviour, at least temporarily, so how could she- Bethany's numb mind snapped into full alert the instant her brother appeared in front of her, the creatures long claws ripping flesh asunder and splattering Hamura's blood onto the ground. Bethany stared as her twin brother wobbled on his feet, before collapsing to his knees, "a-at least I managed *gasp* to save you, Ha-Hagromo" he whispered, giving his sister a shaky smile, before the light faded from his eyes, and he fell forward's, his pale face lifeless. Bethany stared in horror, "Ha-Hamu-ura?" she asked shakily. It wasn't possible. Her brother was- she reached forwards and gently shook his shoulder, her body shaking as much as her voice, "hey, c-come on, th-this is not fun-ny" she said, trembling, desperately hoping that what her eyes were telling her was wrong.

"Hamura, come on, wake up!" she cried, picking him up and holding him tightly in her trembling arms, tears cascading down her face, "brother! Brother don't leave me!" she screamed, sobbing uncontrollably now. The monster laughed, " **you** lit **tl** e bi **tch** , you **dese** rve not **h** **ing** but **pain**!" it screamed. Bethany's face suddenly went blank and a huge shudder went through her body. Her hair shadowed her eyes as she stared down at the lifeless form of her twin brother, "he's dead," she whispered. The creature smirked evilly, "w **ha** t was **that** , you pat **heti** c brat? **Does it** hurt? Are you **suffering**?" it asked in delighted insanity. The girl's body began shaking in rage, "you killed him, my precious, brother," she said, before gently placing the boy down on the ground and standing up. "You killed him," she repeated softly. Bethany suddenly looked up, her furious eyes locking onto the form of her brother's murderer, "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER, YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!" she screamed. That was when the monster noticed her eyes. Metallic ringed purple locked onto his form, a shockwave of chakra blasting through the air, hitting it squarely, pushing down on the creature's form like an invisible hand.

Despite its insanity, the monster wasn't immune to fear and it began to tremble at the amount of killing intent Bethany was exuding. Suddenly, the girl was gone, disappearing completely, even her presence had vanished. Then, the creature went flying through the air as his child-sized opponent punched him so hard that he was thrown off the ground in an instant. The beating only lasted a few minutes, but to the creature it felt as though it was bashed around for hours. The monster landed on the ground, barely managing to push itself up onto its hands and knees, before the pressure hit it again. Looking up with difficulty, the monster's hollow eyes locked onto the enraged form of Bethany standing over him and looking like death incarnate. It shuddered in fear for its life, but didn't look away, "w- **w** h **at a** re y **-yo** u **?"** it asked, voice trembling with fear. The girl with the eyes of god glared, "I am your hell" she said, utter hatred and malice in her voice, showing a seriousness that she never had before. Suddenly, amid purple flames, a dark purple and black construct with Rinnegan eyes appeared. The King Of Hell obeyed the girl standing before him, and with a final scream, the creature that had taken her brother from her vanished from the girls sight as he was dragged down into his mouth.

Bethany stared with agonised eyes at her brother, "Hamura" she whispered. Suddenly, her hands shot into movement, her fingers forming two distinct hand signs, "Gedo: art of Rinne Rebirth!" she exclaimed. A puff of smoke enveloped the King Of Hell, the black was replaced by pure white, and his mouth opened once again. Bright green energy flew from it, shooting up into the sky, before falling back down to earth and enveloping the body of Hamura. He glowed for a moment, before the light faded, and the King Of Hell vanished in a puff of smoke. Bethany stood their panting, before finally falling into unconsciousness, her Rinnegan eyes fading as she fell to the ground. At that exact moment, Kaguya appeared, her eyes widening when the saw the destruction, and gasping when she saw her two children collapsed on the ground, and blood all over the ground and on Hamura. The woman ran up to her children, and sighed with relief when she found that both were alright, just unconscious. She wondered what those surges of chakra had been before, and then that huge one just a few moments ago.

The Rabbit Goddess sighed, well, no use wondering about that now- she had two hurt and unconscious children to look after. Carefully and gently, Kaguya lifted her babies up into her arms. She took one last look around the destroyed forest and vanished back to her home. After she'd left, another presence made itself known. Metallic purple ringed eyes watched as the mother carried the two children away.

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

Bethany moaned as she slept. The girl had a high fever, and was very restless. Kaguya had gotten her two children back home as soon as she'd found them. Whatever creature it was that put them in that situation hadn't been present at the scene, though she had felt the presence of a demonic entity all around the area. There had seemed to have been a battle in that forest, but there was no demon or monster nearby that she could find. This confused the woman, for if there had been a demon attacking her children, where had it gone? It's presence was too strong for it to have gotten very far, but there was nothing around- only it's presence. Kaguya sighed, sometimes she hated being the Rabbit Goddess more than anything else. Hamura seemed to be fine, simply exhausted, so she'd let him sleep.

The symptoms that Hagromo-Chan were showing however, had her worried. It appeared to be a high fever, and nothing she did seemed to be able to help it break. The goddess sighed again, before getting up and deciding to let her children get some rest. Besides, she could do with a walk to calm her mind. As she left, the presence that had appeared in the clearing where Bethany and Hamura had fought that demon materialised once again. He stared at the girl with an indescribable expression on his face, before merging with her body.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The being that was now within Bethany's mind opened his Rinnegan eyes, and looked around the mindscape. The place was a huge library, with scrolls upon scrolls stacked neatly on shelves. This confused the man slightly, the 'new him' had only been alive for so long, how was it that she possessed so many memories and experiences? He shrugged, he supposed it didn't matter. And if it were really bothering him that much, he could always ask the girl himself when he found her. Walking through the library, the person felt around for the girl's chakra, finding it coming from a room of her mind not too far from him. As he walked, he thought about the child who now lived his life. He was able to pick up bits and pieces from her subconscious abstract thoughts. So Bethany was her name, or former name.

She seemed to know a lot about his world and the future of it. But she also seemed very worried by that future, very unsure of herself. Well, he thought, he would just have to change that, wouldn't he? Slowly, he came upon a huge room, a little smaller than the rest of the library, but still enormous in size. The whole place was orange, which he thought was a little odd, but this was _her_ mind after all, and she could choose the colouring as she wished. He found her curled up in the middle of the room and he slowly approached her. Suddenly the girl stiffened and slowly uncurled herself. The being stopped and waited as she turned around and looked at him. Rinnegan eyes met Rinnegan eyes and she gasped. The being, who was a man, smiled softly, "hello, young one, you're name is Bethany, is it not?" he asked gently. Bethany nodded with wide eyes and slowly sat up, "you- you are, Sennin-Sama, right?" she asked breathlessly. The man, now identified as the original, male Sage of the Six Paths nodded, "yes, I am- it appears that we have much to discus, young one" he replied.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The girl had just finished explaining to the sage about her life so far, and her worries. The sage, who had asked her to call him Hagromo, since she was Bethany within her own mind, agreed to help train her and her brother, and also to teach her about Ninshu so that she could teach the world when it was time. "Hagromo-Sama, do you really believe that I can do it? that I can live up to your legend?" she asked softly. Hagromo nodded, "of course I do, I know that you will be just as strong as me in time" he replied equally as soft. Bethany stared at him, "but that's the problem!" she exclaimed, worried Rinnegan eyes never leaving his face, not bothering to use correct grammar, "I'm not you- I'm just- I'm just me- so how could I ever be as great as you were" she said softly, tears welling up in her eyes, "I want to help people, really I do- but how can I do that if I can't even- if I can't-" she burst into tears, collapsing to the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.

The man knelt next to her and held her while she cried, feeling her body shaking in his arms. Well, technically it was her mental representation of herself, but that didn't matter. "I am sorry," he whispered, "I do not know how this happened, but the fact that, even now you want help people, to do as I did, despite everything you might lose- you are a truly kind and loving child, Bethany, and you will not have to save this world alone" Hagromo said softly, causing Bethany to look up at him, "I will teach you everything I know, and do not forget, Hamura is here to help you as well- so do not fear- for you can do it" he told her with a smile. Bethany also allowed a small grateful smile to light her face as she wiped her eyes, "arigato, Hagromo-Sama" she replied equally as softly. Hagromo nodded, "now, I think it is time for you to wake up, before your mother starts to lose her self-control".

Bethany frowned, "um, about mother- I think it is going to happen soon, there is something off about her, and she is getting worse every day that we see her- that is one of the reasons that I am so worried, worried that we will not be strong enough when the time comes, worried that it will happen too early, and everyone will-" she paused and bit her lip, looking down at the ground. Suddenly she felt the sage's gentle hand on her shoulder, "everything will be fine, you must have faith in yourself- I promise you, you will become as strong as you need to, young Bethany- because it is not only yourself that you are fighting for, it is the world" he said as she looked up at him once again. Bethany gained a determined look in her eyes, "hai, I understand" she replied. The Sage nodded, "now, it is time to wake up" he said, as they faded from her mindscape.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Bethany slowly opened her eyes, flinching slightly at the bright light, before opening them fully and looking around. When she saw the still form of Hamura lying in his bed across from her, the girl gasped, and shot out of bed, her exhaustion vanishing completely as if it had never been there at all. She walked up to him hurriedly, "brother?" she asked softly, panic quickly taking hold of her when she saw how still he was. The girl remembered using the Rinne Rebirth jutsu to bring her brother back to life, but she'd collapsed into unconsciousness before finding out if he'd truly been revived. Seeing him so still caused her to remember Hamura's death and her heart rate sped up. Reaching out, she took hold of his arm and gave him a light shake, "Hamura?" she asked, unable to stop that last scene from playing in her mind. Steeling herself, she gave him a stronger shove, "Hamura!" she cried, desperate.

The boy flinched, his pure white eyes snapping open, and gasping as he did so. He then closed his eyes and groaned, "Hagromo- ah, what-" he paused, his foggy mind trying to remember what had happened. Suddenly, the boy shot up into a sitting position, "Hagromo! That thing- that, that- demon!" he flinched again, holding his head, "be calm brother, the demon is gone, I killed it" Bethany explained, helping Hamura to sit up in a more comfortable manner. He looked confused, "you killed it? but how, the demon was so strong that we could not even defeat it together?" he asked. Bethany frowned, searching for their mother's chakra signature. Not sensing her anywhere nearby, the girl turned to face her twin again, a look of complete seriousness on her face. Seeing it made Hamura unconsciously sit up straighter, and give his full attention to his sister. "What I am about to tell and show you, you must not say a word about to mother, understood?" she asked, staring straight into her brothers white featureless orbs.

The boy nodded. Bethany took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sending chakra to them to activate her Dojutsu. Upon opening them, Hamura gasped. "your eyes, they are like mothers, but different" he said. Bethany nodded, "they appear to be new ones, I do not know what they are yet, but I have used them once already to banish the demon who killed you- and to bring you back to life" she explained, with sadness present in her voice. She didn't think that she would ever be able to get over Hamura's death, or her guilt over the event either. Her brother's eyes widened only a fraction, but Bethany could tell that he was incredibly shocked- well, being an 82 year old woman in spirit with more knowledge about their world than most people did have its advantages. "I-" he whispered, "really died? And then-" he gulped, "you were really able to bring me back to life?" he asked shakily.

Bethany frowned, "brother, calm yourself, panicking now would only cause you more problems" she said sternly, yet softly. The white-haired boy closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a few moments. When he opened his eyes again, he was back to his regular calm self, "forgive me sister, it is just-" he sighed softly, "the thought that I died is a frightening one, though I will say that I would not hesitate to do so again," silently prompting her brother to continue, Hamura shuffled slightly in an attempt to get comfortable on the bed, "the reason for this is a very simple one," he stared right into her yet-to-be legendary eyes, "you are my sister, and though I regret causing you so much pain in the wake of my death, I am sure I would not have been able to live with myself if I had allowed you to die instead- you are as precious to me as I am to you, and I want nothing more than to help you and make you happy," Bethany blinked and realised that she was crying, "so I would gladly die a thousand deaths if it meant that I could save you from the same fate," Hamura smiled, a gentle smile that he only ever gave to his sister, "because I love you too much to let you die" he whispered.

At this, Bethany broke down completely, and held her brother in her arms as she cried in joy, love and thanks. Her brother really did mean everything to her in this new life of hers, and she swore that no matter what, she would always keep him safe, just as much as he would for her. From the depths of her mindscape, Hagromo watched the two fondly. He had loved his brother as well, and he swore that he would help Bethany to keep hers safe from now on.

To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

When Kaguya came back to her home, she was both surprised and delighted to find both her children up and about. "Hagromo, Hamura, you are awake!" she exclaimed, rushing up to them and enveloping both into a hug. Once she'd pulled away, she examined her son and daughter with her Byakugan, "are you feeling alright? You were both unconscious for a while, and you had a high fever, Hagromo-Chan" she said, while confirming that neither had any injuries or present symptoms. Bethany smiled, "we are fine now mother, thank you for worrying about us and making sure we were alright" she said, genuinely thankful for her care of them. The woman smiled softly, "of course, you are my children after all, I would do anything to keep you safe" she replied. Staring at her 'mother', Bethany _almost_ believed that she really was the gentle and loving woman that she made herself out to be.

But that 'off' feeling that she'd had for a while now still continued to plague her, and with Sennin-Sama encouraging her to be cautious, she couldn't entirely relax around the Rabbit Goddess. Kaguya clapped her hands, "alright, I am making dinner tonight, both of you just sit down and relax" she said happily. Hamura tilted his head to the side, "but we were going to help you with dinner?" he asked questioningly. Now, normally, Kaguya would accept their offer of help gladly, or just gently tell them that she was fine and to rest. But this time was different- this was what secured the future of their mother becoming the Juubi or Ten Tails in Bethany's mind. A dark aura began to emanate from the Goddess, and she practically growled: **"I said sit down, now do it!"** she ordered. Bethany knew that Kaguya would begin to act like this at some point, and she was now also confident that she and her brother would become powerful enough to stop her together. But they were both only Five, and despite being mature for their age- Bethany especially for obvious reasons, what just occurred scared the crap out of them, and they quickly rushed to take their seats.

Kaguya's deadly aura dissipated, to be replaced by something akin to satisfaction, "that's good children," she said gently, beginning to cook dinner. A short while later she walked back over, placing down two wooden bowls of stew on the table in front of them, and returned to the kitchen to get her own bowl. Once she'd sat down on the other side of the table in between them, the three began to eat. Bethany was struggling to keep calm as she methodically chewed and swallowed her food, barely able to taste it. Hamura was hiding his fear well also, eating his food quietly. Once they'd finished, the two siblings wished their mother goodnight and returned to their bedroom. While getting changed, neither spoke a word. It was only later, when they both lay in bed, unable to fall asleep, that Hamura spoke up quietly, his voice no higher than a whisper: "Hagromo-Nee-Sama, what do you think is going to happen?" he asked. Bethany was unable to reply. She would have said that she didn't know, but in truth she did know. She knew all too well what was going to happen, but she also hoped that it would be far enough away for them to acquire the strength they would need. "I do not know Otouto, but whatever is going to happen, we will be ready for it- I refuse to lose you a second time" she said.

The white-haired boy turned to face her, white eyes seeming to glow in the dark, "do you really believe we will be able to defeat mother if it comes to that? She is not called a goddess for no reason" he spoke softly. In that instant, Bethany saw and heard something in her brother's eyes and voice that erased any doubts of her strength, it was fear- pure, cold fear. To hear something like that come from the mouth of her precious Otouto, to see the terror in his eyes was enough to cause her to overcome any fear she held. "Of course we will," she said with absolute conviction in her voice and eyes, "I will not allow you or anyone else in this world to suffer by our mothers hand- I swear, I will fight hell itself to stop her if I have to" she said seriously. Hamura's own doubt was washed away when he heard those words, "if you are willing to do that for me, then how can I do anything but the same for you- sister, no matter what happens, I will stand by your side, fight by your side and remain by your side, come hell or high water- we are family, and no matter how strong mother is, if and when it happens, we **will** stop her- together".

Bethany felt tears come to her eyes at her brother's words, "thank you brother- thank you" she whispered, as a single tear slid down the side of her face and both fell asleep.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The next morning, Bethany and her brother woke up with the sun like normal. They were used to this routine by now, and it came as natural to them. Kaguya had already left, leaving a note saying that she had some urgent business to attend to in the south and that she should be gone for several days. In Bethany's mind this was perfect, now she and her brother would have a fair amount of time to train without having to worry about their mother. After their normal breakfast of fruit and water, the two went out to 'play'. Standing before the inner ring of the forest, Bethany turned to her brother, "alright Hamura, today we are going to be doing something that will help with our other games" she explained. The boy nodded, causing her to smile, Hamura was always willing to learn.

Bethany pointed to the tree they stood before, "we are going to be climbing trees-" she paused, watching as her brother raised a single eyebrow, "without using our hands" she finished, a calm tone to her voice. This caused Hamura's other eyebrow to go up to meet his other one, and to give his sister a wide-eyed look. Bethany giggled, "aw, you look so cute like that Hamura" she said, causing her brother to scowl and cross his arms over his chest, "no I do not" he said in a way that was somehow calm and indignant at the same time. The girl giggled louder, bringing up a hand to cover her wide grin, "I am sorry, but I just couldn't help it" she said, finally stopping her giggling. Hamura turned away and pouted, "alright, alright, I really am sorry brother, okay?" she asked gently. The white-eyed boy sighed almost inaudibly, before nodding and dropping his arms to his side. The girl smiled softly, turning to the tree, "now, do you remember my eyes?" she asked, refiring to her Rinnegan. The white-haired boy nodded, "hai" he replied softly. "Well, the reason that I was able to activate them, is due to a certain energy that I inherited from mother," she explained.

Staring at her brother, she asked, "do you understand so far?" Hamura nodded, then cocked his head to the side, "but how do you know that you inherited it from her?" he asked quietly. Bethany looked down, "it is because I can also sense that energy, and both she and you are the only ones, aside from myself of course that possess it" she said. The boy nodded, then stopped, "so that is how you are always able to find me, you can sense this energy- even if I am completely silent when I move" he said in comprehension. Bethany grinned at her twin, "yes, that is why" she said slyly. Hamura sighed inaudibly again, "so that means, that no matter how quietly I move, you will always be able to find me until I learn to suppress it?" he asked. The girl nodded. "Now," she began cheerfully, "the exercise we are going to do is called tree-climbing, and it will allow us to literally walk up walls and trees when mastered" she explained.

Her brother nodded, "so I suppose this will help our games in the sense that we will no longer have to fear falling from the trees and will be able to simply run up them, increasing our speed and agility?" he asked. Bethany nodded happily, "that is right, you are getting very smart brother" she replied. Hamura let a tiny smirk onto his face, before it once again became stoic. "Now, let us begin" she said, focusing her chakra to the bottom of her feet. Hamura, feeling the type of energy that his sister was using, promptly did the same. Then, with a single glance at each other, the two siblings shot forwards at their respective trees.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

After a single day of training, both Bethany and Hamura were able to reach the top of the tree. Of course, for the purpose of convenience, the two ate fruit from the trees they were climbing, this also improved the completion rate of their training. The young girl was very proud of her Otouto, and she told him as much while they were walking home. "Heh, arigato, sister" he replied quietly. Once they returned home, the two ate a dinner of nuts, berries and fruit, before going to bed.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

That night a bad thunderstorm raged all around the house. Bethany was asleep in bed, when something shook her and woke her from her slumber. Opening her eyes, the girl saw her brother standing over her bed. She shifted into a half sitting position, yawning, "what is it brother?" she asked mid-yawn. Hamura said nothing, but when a growl of thunder echoed through the room, the boy clung to her and shook with fear, a couple of tears falling from his eyes. Bethany smiled softly, "afraid of Thunderstorm's brother? I did not think you feared anything, well, besides mother of course," she said, gently stroking her younger twin brother's hair. His face was still buried into her night clothes, but she could still hear the muffled words when he spoke, "will you sing me that lullaby Nee-Sama? The one you thought up?" he asked in a trembling voice, hiding his face, possibly in shame. The girl nodded, "of course I will, but how about we lie down and get comfortable first," she said softly.

After they were both lying down in bed with the sheet covering them, Bethany held her brother close to her, closed her eyes and began to sing: _"little child, be not afraid, the rain pounds harsh against the glass, like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger, I am here tonight,"_ she began to stroke Hamura's hair softly again, feeling his body relax in her embrace, _"little child, be not afraid, though thunder explodes, and lightning flash, illuminates, your tear-stained face, I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning,"_ Bethany smiled gently, then continued, _"_ _Little child, be not afraid, the storm clouds mask your beloved moon, and it's candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams, and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning. Little child, be not afraid, the wind makes creatures of our trees, and their branches to hands, they're not real understand, and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you see in the morning,"_.

Bethany took a breath then continued, _"for you know, once even I was a little child, and I was afraid, but a gentle someone always came, to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears and to give a kiss goodnight, well now I am grown, and these years have shown, rain's a part of how life goes, but it's dark and it's late, so I'll hold you and wait, till your frightened eyes do close, and I hope that you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning, everything's fine in the morning, the rain will be gone in the morning, but I'll still be here, in the morning"_ she ended softly. Opening her eyes, she found that her brother was once again sound asleep. She contemplated putting him back into his own bed, but the storm still rumbled around the house, and she knew that if Hamura woke up again in the night, she'd have to do this again. Well, it wasn't that she minded really, but she didn't want him to think she had just ignored him once he was out of the way. That couldn't be further from the truth. So, gently adjusting her position in the bed so they could both lay comfortably, Bethany closed her eyes.

Before she fell asleep, the girl whispered one last thing to her brother: "goodnight, my precious Otouto, I love you".

To Be Continued


	5. Chapter 5

_**A new world, the daughter of peace 5**_

The next day started normally, the two siblings woke up with the sun and had breakfast. Kaguya was still away, so Bethany wasn't nervous that morning. Suddenly she heard a voice in her head, but she managed to keep from reacting outwardly, _**"Bethany-Chan?"**_ it asked. The girl blinked for a moment, before she remembered what had happened the day before. _'Sennin-Sama?,'_ she thought, _'is that you?'_ _**"yes, good morning, how are you today?"**_ the Sage of the six Paths asked cheerfully. _'I am well, though we should probably talk later, otherwise Hamura might start to worry if I stop responding suddenly'_ she replied happily. The Sage nodded, _**"alright, that sounds reasonable"**_ he acquiesced gently. Hamura turned to her, "so, what are we going to do today sister?" he asked curiously. The young woman thought for a moment, "well-" she paused, a drop of sweat falling down her head, "I am not actually sure" she replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

The boy almost fell onto the ground at that, but instead just stood there with a madly twitching eyebrow, staring at her, before he sighed, "alright, I suppose I will just have to choose this time" he said. After thinking for a moment, Hamura said, "I want to play tree-jump tag, we haven't done it for a while, and I want to today" Bethany smiled and nodded, "alright, tree-jump tag it is brother" she said happily, "but just to let you know, I plan on winning this time" she called as she walked off to the forest. Hamura frowned, "I would not be so sure, Hagromo, for you see, this time, I am going to win" he replied, his frown turning into a smirk, as he walked into the trees after his sister.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Bethany jumped through the trees as fast as she could. She looked around with calculating eyes, trying to take in as much information as possible. She knew Hamura was fast, and she wasn't going to lose so quickly. Suddenly, the boy appeared behind her and she dodged out of the way just in time to avoid his lunge. The two siblings leapt backwards and forwards through the forest, the younger boy trying to catch his twin, and failing each time. "Nee-Sama!" he pouted, "stand still!" Bethany snickered, "why should I, brother? Can you not catch me?" she taunted lightly. Hamura scowled, "I can catch you, just you wait!" he called, as he jumped the other way.

Bethany stood still and searched for her brother's chakra. Suddenly, without any warning, she was tackled to the ground from behind. Turning her head, she saw her brother smirking down at her, "I caught you, sister" he said, a satisfied grin on his face. Bethany sighed, "yes, yes, you caught me brother" the boy stood up a moment later, helping his twin up as well, "well, do you think I have gotten better, Hagromo?" he asked. Bethany smiled and nodded, "hai, you have Hamura, well done" she replied gently. Her smile became a grin, "but now it is my turn to catch you, so hurry and hide" she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. The boy smirked again- no doubt thinking that _this time_ he would escape. Bethany's grin turned devious, hardly. Hamura quickly jumped off into the woods again, while his sister followed after him. Bethany really enjoyed this time with her brother. She knew that things would begin going downhill soon, and when they did, they would only get worse quickly.

But the time she spent with Hamura made everything else seem less- she supposed the word would be worrisome. With her brother by her side, she felt confident that everything would work out. Bethany knew that if she were alone, her new life here would be- well, less than pleasant. Suddenly, Bethany leapt to the side and grabbed Hamura out of the tree he was currently hiding in. This time it was her turn to smirk, "caught you" she said lightly, landing on the ground with her brother in her arms. Hamura pouted and Bethany gently placed him back on the ground, "do not pout brother, you will get it in time" she told him with a soft smile. The boy smiled very slightly, "arigato" he replied quietly.

Bethany tilted her head to the side, "what now?" she asked. "How about we go for a walk in the woods, since our last one was interrupted" he suggested. The girl raised an eyebrow, "even with what happened the last time? You are not afraid that we could be attacked again?" she asked curiously. Hamura shook his head, "no sister, I believe that if we truly worked together and combined our powers, that nothing and no one would be able to stand against us" he replied seriously. Bethany chuckled, "well, perhaps in a few years Hamura, but right now we are still only children- and while it is true that I have gained more power, we still do not know what kind of power it is, what it can do and its limitations- therefore we should not rely solely on it, or it may prove to be more fatal than any enemy we could face" she explained rationally.

The white-haired, white-eyed boy tilted his head in both understanding and acknowledgement. Despite being the same age, he knew that his sister's intelligence and wisdom far surpassed his own, and she often made many astounding observations or logical inputs that he never even considered. "You are very smart Hagromo" he said, staring at her with awe that he didn't bother concealing. Bethany laughed slightly, "thank you, but I just point out the obvious- my intelligence is nowhere near yours brother" she replied honestly. Hamura frowned slightly at that. Hagromo was very humble, and under normal circumstances he would admire that, but not now. The white-haired boy shook his head, "not true sister, you are smarter than you think and will become a far stronger person than even I in both body and spirit someday" he said, causing Bethany to smile softly, "arigato, Otouto" she whispered, though Hamura heard it, "anytime Nii-Sama" he replied just as softly.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Bethany and Hamura walked quietly through the forest, this time keeping an eye out for anything hostile. So far nothing had shown up, and while grateful, the young woman was wary, knowing that they could be attacked at any time. Hamura, while he didn't have his sisters sensing capabilities, was also alert, knowing the last time he let his guard down he ended up dying. The future wielder of the Teneseigan kept his eyes on the trees, keeping his mind focussed but his body relaxed. Hagromo watched the two walk, knowing that Bethany was the most worried out of the siblings. The last time she hadn't been cautious enough her brother had been killed right in front of her- and while she had been able to bring the boy back to life, it had left a noticeable scar on the girls Psyche.

But, despite this, she refused to let her mistakes from the past stop her from protecting those she loved _now_. The first Sage Of The Six Paths respected Bethany for this, and vowed to help her in any way possible. As they came to stop at a clear stream, the young girl smiled at her twin, "you can drink first Hamura, I will keep watch, alright?" she asked, to which the boy nodded. The albino haired boy knelt down and cupped his hands. Capturing some of the cool clear water, Hamura brought his hands up to his mouth and tipped his head back slightly, letting the liquid run down his throat. After a few more mouthfuls of water, the boy wiped his mouth and stood up. Bethany smiled and knelt down herself while her brother kept an eye on the trees.

She copied the actions of her twin and sighed with contentment when she'd finished. Bethany sighed deeply and laid back on the soft grass beside the stream, her brother doing the same. They were silent for a moment, both just looking up at the canopy of leaves above them as patches of sunlight shone down through the trees, warming them in the cool air. Bethany closed her eyes and just relaxed for a moment, though she kept her guard up. After refreshing themselves, the two returned to their home, which was really just a decked out cave. But it was comfortable enough and served it's purpose, so Bethany wasn't complaining. After going inside, Bethany turned to her brother, "well Hamura, I think I am going to meditate for a while if you do not mind spending a few hours alone?" she asked, though she already knew the boys answer.

Hamura nodded, walking off to do his own thing. The girl smiled, knowing that to most it might seem a little rude, but she wasn't most. Hamura was her twin brother, younger by a few minutes, and she knew him better than anyone. The red-haired girl turned to walk into her room, which was a separate cavern of the cave, made up with a bed made out of hay and sheets and a torch on the wall for light. Bethany laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, which thankfully she could activate and deactivate at will- it made keeping them a secret form her mother much easier, and currently they were pure, pupil less white, like her brothers. Calming her breathing and body, she let herself slip into her mind.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in, what she had dubbed, the "Naruto" portion of her mindscape. This was where she kept all her memories relating to the anime, and lately those memories had been divided into: anime and possible future and, current life and possible future. This was where she found the Sage Of The Six Paths, patiently waiting for her to arrive. Bethany smiled and walked up to the man, bowing deeply when she reached him, "Hagromo-Sama" she said, with respect and reverence in her tone. Hagromo smiled softly, "there is no need to be so formal, after all, you are me now, Bethany-Chan" he replied. The girl stood up straight. She frowned, "though that is true, I am nowhere near your level, so I would still like to show you the respect you deserve Se- Hagromo-Sama" she replied.

The Sage smiled softly, she was a good child, "alright, I respect your decision, but I would prefer you to see us as equals one day," he spoke softly. Sensing something troubling the girl, he frowned slightly, "is something wrong, Bethany-Chan?" he asked gently. Bethany twisted uncomfortably, unsure how to go about asking this. Judging by the man's personality, he should be fine with her question, but she didn't want to come off as sounding too brash or demanding. "Um, w-well, I was wondering-" she paused, unsure how to continue. Hagromo smiled again, "please, if you have a question do not hesitate to ask Bethany-Chan, I would be more than happy to help you" he said. Bethany closed her eyes and took a single calming breath.

When she opened them again, she stared directly at the Sage, their matching eyes seemingly boring into each other's souls. "Sennin-Sama, I know this may seem forward of me, but since I am now you and must one day follow the actions you have taken- and since I, myself also want to help the world-" Bethany bowed deeply again, "I humbly request you to teach me about Ninshu so that I may one day teach it to others as you did, Sennin-Sama" she spoke in a reverent tone of voice, that clearly expressed her desire to help others, but also held a little worry- worry that she wouldn't be able to live up to expectations that history had set for her. After all, aside from her brother, who would become her equal, and her mother who was stronger than her, Bethany, as Hagromo, was destined to become the strongest, well, woman on the planet and it's saviour- at least for a time.

When she looked up, however, she saw the man almost beaming at her, "of course," he replied, with a joy and excitement in his voice that was usually absent, "I will always be willing to teach those willing to learn about my beliefs- Ninshu is what I devoted my life to after all, and I would be more than glad to teach you everything about it" he replied. Bethany's face lit up, this was something that she was actually excited to learn about. She concentrated and two plush looking armchairs appeared for the two of them to sit on. Once both were seated comfortably in the chairs, a table with a teapot and cups appeared on top of it, "would you like some tea, Hagromo-Sama?" Bethany asked, getting ready to pour. The Sage smiled, "that would be very much appreciated, thank you" he replied, picking up his cup as the girl poured the tea into it.

After they'd both had their fill of tea, a notebook and pencil appeared in Bethany's hands. She was defiantly eager. Hagromo chuckled slightly at that, "well, I must say that you are the first person I've met who was this eager to learn about my teachings- even among those I did teach, they only showed a healthy respect and awe towards my words, not the same kind of willing eagerness that you do," he smiled at her again, "it makes me happy to find one so willing, and that person also happens to be the new me," he paused for a moment, "thank you" he said softly.

Bethany was shocked for a moment, before she grinned, "it is no problem at all Hagromo-Sama, I have always wanted to help people, and I have always wanted peace to become a reality, but in my old world, it was not possible for humans to accomplish that- if I can bring peace, even only the start of it, then that is enough- for now at least" she said happily. The sage smiled, glad the girl felt that way. He settled into the incredibly comfortable armchair and looked at Bethany with a serious expression. Seeing it, the girl's own face morphed into a serious look also, "I just want you to know, Bethany-Chan, that not only will this be hard, but I expect you to stick to my teachings completely- I will not have Ninshu corrupted again- do you understand?" he asked.

Bethany nodded, fully ready to accept that if it meant that she could help bring peace and safety to others. "I understand Hagromo-Sama, I will do my best to stick to your teachings whole-heartedly" she said, her voice conveying that she would do everything in her power to live her life by this code. The sage nodded and smiled again, "I suppose that that is all I can ask of you" he replied with a nod. Bethany grinned brightly, "let us get started then!"

To Be Continued


	6. Chapter 6

It had been 10 years since Bethany had been reborn, and things were starting to get out of hand. Kaguya was losing herself more and more to her own power, but instead of becoming completely different and insane like Bethany had thought she would, she had developed a sort of second personality that only emerged when she and her brother didn't obey her, or she became angry. Her regular personality was the kind and loving mother that Hagoromo and Hamura had come to know. When she did get angry however, Kaguya was absolutely terrifying, causing the two siblings to have many nightmares about it.

Thankfully, this didn't deter either of the two siblings from their promise to stop their mother if it was necessary. However, Bethany _really_ hoped it never came to that. She had come to love her new mother with all her heart, although she spent long periods of time away from them, whenever they did see her and she was in a good mood, Kaguya was every bit the caring and gentle woman who would do anything for her two children. It physically hurt to see her losing herself to her power and becoming the monster who would one day try and trap everyone in a fake world while sucking them dry of their Chakra- twice! Sennin-Sama tried to comfort the poor girl but with the danger growing nearer every day, there weren't many words he could offer to soothe the pain and guilt Bethany felt about the future.

While she was becoming more and more unstable, Kaguya also seemed to take longer trips away from her children, however that was just what Bethany wanted. With Kaguya spending so little time at home, it allowed her and her brother to train for longer periods of time. Now, he may not have noticed when he was younger, but Hamura was a genius, and as he grew older, he came to realise all on his own that many of the 'games' that his sister played with him were in actuality training exercises, to help them develop their abilities and learn to use their Chakra properly. The two now trained earnestly, well, as much as they could anyway. Bethany had also 'come up' with a name for her Dojutsu. Hamura thought the name 'Samsara Eye' was very fitting and told his sister so. Hagromo smiled and said that she thought so as well.

As part of their new training, the two spared often, (however in a different area than their usual training grounds, as if they destroyed the area with their mock battles, it couldn't be linked to them). It was during of these 'spars' that Bethany awakened another of her seven Path's, and a very useful one for covering their tracks as well. * _Flashback*Hamura had found that if he saturated the elements around him with his Chakra, he was able to gain some control over said element. That being said, he had just launched a wind style attack that he had learned to use by saturating the air with his chakra. On instinct, Hagoromo raised her hand in front of her to protect herself from the attack. To their astonishment, and Hagromo's excitement, a clear barrier formed around and in front of her. When the wind attack hit the barrier, it stopped dead and a blue energy was sucked from the technique into Hagoromo's body. Bethany felt a rush of new energy fill her body and she knew instinctively that it was her little brother's Chakra._

 _With this new ability, the Preta Path, Hagoromo would be able to absorb any residual Chakra in the air from their training, thus making themselves and their activities invisible. Hamura got out of his offensive crouch and walked over to his sister, "What was that Hagoromo-Nee?" he asked curiously, tilting his head slightly to the side. Bethany looked at her hand, "I think it is a new ability of my Rinnegan, though I do not know what exactly to call it," she replied. In reality, Bethany knew what it was, but had to take some time to 'come up with a name first'. Hamura nodded, and the two went to the river to wash up *end flashback*._ Currently, the siblings were sitting in the trees watching the clouds go by in the blue sky. Hamura sighed, causing Hagromo to turn to look at him, "what is wrong Hamura?" she asked.

The white-haired boy looked down, "I sometimes wonder if there is a reason for life Hagoromo, it seems so dull sometimes, and when it is not, usually it is because of something bad happening- it makes me wonder if it is even worth the effort if this is all there is" he replied, expression downcast. Hagromo's eyes widened, where did this come from? "Brother, are you saying that you do not think life is worth living? That you would rather not even bother?" she asked, a stern edge to her voice that caused Hamura to stiffen. The boy quickly shook his head, "no, that is not what I meant at all, I just-" he sighed again, "I just feel like I- we, have no purpose in life, no reason to exist in the world," he replied, frowning deeply, disturbed by what his sister had thought he'd implied.

Hagromo turned back to the sky, _'no purpose, huh?'_ she thought. Focusing her chakra to her eyes, the entire eyeball turned purple, while rings slowly began to appear in her eyes. The future Sage of the Six Paths let her one day legendary eyes roam the blue expanse above them. Both siblings were silent a while, until the girl began to speak quietly: "I do not think that it is as simple as that- to have a purpose in life, one must find a goal- something that one wishes for more than anything else in the world, something that gives meaning to your existence as both an individual and a person who strives to change some aspect of either themselves, others or the world as a whole- it is not an easy thing to find, and to achieve it is an even harsher task," Hamura stayed silent as his sister spoke- she always amazed him with the wisdom that she seemed to possess, even for a child of only 10 years of age, who had never left this forest, "you must be willing to sacrifice things to chase your goal, your dream, it takes time, effort, will, courage and hope to do so, but if we can," she looked over at her brother, her powerful eyes conveying with absolute certainty her beliefs and her will to achieve her goals.

"If we can do it, we won't have to worry about a thing" she said gently. Hamura tilted his head to the side curiously, "what is your dream Hagoromo- what do you wish to achieve in this life?" the white-haired boy asked. Hagromo closed her eyes again, thinking about what she wanted. She wanted to protect her brother, save her mother if it was possible, save the world from her, but most of all, Bethany was determined to make the Sage's past/future goal of bringing true peace to this world a reality. Even though she knew it wouldn't last and that her future children would most likely break that peace with their battles, which caused her heart to ach not only for that, but for all the pain her babies would experience in the future, Bethany also knew that this would be the catalyst for Naruto to save the world, "my goal is to create peace for this world and it's inhabitants, as my chakra has grown, so has sensory range- I can feel that outside our home there is a lot of turmoil and warring going on- I want to end that and bring forth and era of true peace and order, that, is my dream" she said.

Hamura was staring at his sister with slightly wide, shocked eyes. He always knew that she was very philosophical and wanted to achieve some rather high goals, but this- this was completely different. However, if there was ever anyone who could do something such as this, as bringing true peace to the world, it was _his_ sister, Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Hamura smiled only slightly, but anyone who knew him well enough, like Bethany and the Sage, knew that this was his version of a full out grin, "it may be hard and take a long time to achieve it, but if we never give up and believe that we can do it, we can bring true peace to this world Hamura, you and me" she said, smiling at the boy. The white-haired boy nodded, "yes, we can sister, and we will- together".

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Hagoromo was in deep meditation. She was dissatisfied with her progress in the last five years, despite Sennin-Sama assuring her that she'd done fine. She'd only gained two Paths so far, but one was one that she couldn't really practice without coming across recently dead people. So she'd practiced her Preta Path with her brother, having him shoot attacks at her, which she'd then absorb. She wanted to find out how large her Chakra pool was and soon found herself once again in her mindscape. This time she wasn't here to visit Sennin-Sama. When she opened her eyes, Bethany once again found herself in her old body.

The girl walked through the library that was her mind. Most of it was composed of the memories she had from her previous life. Bethany passed shelves and shelves of neatly stacked books that represented her memories. The bigger and thicker the books, the larger the memory. She also had certain areas with books containing all memories of certain people. Like her first Mummy. Bethany came up to this area of the library and picked out one of the books. Then she sat down one a chair that appeared out of thin air and tenderly stroked the cover of the book. The girl smiled gently then opened it and began reading. The memory played in her mind as she "read the book".

A few minutes later the girl placed the book back on its place on the shelf. She had come here to find out how large her Chakra capacity was after all. Eventually Bethany came to an enormous room. It was more like an enormous expanse of space actually. Looking around, she noticed the swirling glittering colours, namely a combination of dark purple and gold. When she looked down at her feet, Bethany found that she was standing on a vast expanse of water- like a small ocean. The girl had a feeling that she already knew what the water was so she knelt down and the future Sage placed the palm of one hand on the surface of the water. A ringing sound echoed around the space and the miniature ocean rippled slightly.

Bethany nodded, she'd thought as much, "so, this is my Chakra then?" she spoke aloud to herself, awe clear in her voice and in her eyes, "I never expected it to be so huge, especially at this age" she said. A quiet chuckle from behind her brought the girls attention to the newcomer. An old man dressed in monk's robes and holding a black Shakujo was _floating_ across the ocean of Chakra towards her. The girl smiled, "Sennin-Sama, how are you?" she asked with a respectful bow. The previous Sage of the Six Paths bowed in return, "Bethany-Chan, I am well, thank you for asking," he replied politely. Bethany looked around, at a loss for what to say, "I cannot believe I- you, have and had this amount of chakra, even before you became- its Jinchuriki" she said finally, still in awe of her chakra capacity. Hagromo frowned slightly, he knew the girl who had been reborn into his body and now lived his life had come to love Kaguya.

And yes, maybe at the moment the woman was as kind and loving as any mother should be- but she wouldn't stay that way forever. Eventually Kaguya would become obsessed with her power once more and try to reclaim _all_ of it, turning into the Juubi to do so. He knew it would be hard for Bethany to seal her mother, but it must be done, for the sake of the world and everyone living in it. It may be a cruel thing to ask of this child, but she'd already sworn to do whatever she had to to stop Kaguya should she go mad with power and jealously, and Hagoromo could tell that she would keep her promise no matter what- for the sake of the world and all those who were precious to her. Bethany turned back to the previous sage, "Sennin-Sama, may I ask you a question?" she asked. The old man raised one eyebrow in amusement, "you are already, are you not Bethany-Chan?" he asked.

The girl blushed slightly and looked down, "ah, well, what I wanted to know is- just how much will things change now, since I am a woman? I mean, will your- my children even be born, and if they are, will they still be the same? A-and I know of the problems that happened in the future, but right now, I have decided to focus on one thing at a time" she said, clenching her fists at the thought of what would happen with her possible future children. She hated the thought that her babies, her children could possibly go through all that pain, so many times over. It physically hurt her heart to think about all the suffering, fighting and killing her sons and their descendants would experience, with her unable to do anything for generations of their families. It tore at her heart and left her feeling empty and hollow- if she couldn't change anything, what good was she, with all her maturity and knowledge of the future?

Hagoromo watched Bethany with sadness, he knew that if that future did become a reality, that it would tear the poor girl apart from the inside out to have to watch and not be able to do anything about it. He remembered very well how he felt having to watch his children fight, suffer and die over and over again. As a women who would give birth to them and become their mother, the bond between her and Indra and Asura would be even stronger, at least to Bethany-Chan. That's why he knew that it would cause the poor girl so much more pain to see that than it did to him. It deeply saddened him to know that this girl was going to have to go through all of that herself, most likely not being able to do anything about it either.

The former Sage clenched his fist- he _would not_ allow this child to experience the same pain that he did if there was anything he could do about it. And with him being who he was, he could. He shook his head, "I am afraid that I do not know for sure, but some things will certainly change, wether for better or worse I cannot say, but I know that everything will be fine in the end, as do you" he replied. Bethany bowed her head in acknowledgement, "I truly do hope so, Sennin-Sama" she said softly.

To Be Continued


	7. Chapter 7

Two children traveled together quietly through the forest. Both of them were 10 years old. One was a girl with long spiky red hair, falling down her back to reach her middle back, with one lock bound and framing her face. She had no eyebrows and two long horns on her head. However the most surprising and noteworthy thing about this child was her eyes. They were a deep purple with concentric ripples around the pupil and a small black dot in the center. These rings encompassed not just her irises, but the entirety of her eyeball, the purple glowing with ethereal light.

The girl wore plain, simple clothes; however it was clear with the power that emanated from her eyes that she was anything but normal. The second figure was also dressed simply, however he seemed to give off a noble-yet-humble air, making him seem like he was someone important. He had shoulder-length straight hair, which was the purest white, matching perfectly with his eyes, which were the same colour. The boy was dressed in pure white robes, with two horns on his forehead, like his sister.

These two children were Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki, twin children of the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya. Right now they were travelling to their training spot to continue honing their abilities. Hamura had recently discovered that he had eye powers (what Hagoromo had dubbed 'Dojutsu') like his sister and mother. Hamura, not having as good an imagination as Hagoromo, had not come up with a name for it yet, but he knew that his 'special eyes' were different than those of the rest of his family's. Finally they stopped in a clearing in the forest near their home. The two children were going to spar, to help Hamura get a feel of what his eyes could do- after all, what better way to find that out than sparing with one another?

When they stopped Hagoromo began to stretch her body out. Though not really needing anything other than her eyes to do anything, she thought it would be a good idea to be able to use hand-to-hand combat as well, just in case there was ever a time where she couldn't use her Rinnegan in battle. Hamura, with the help of his sister had developed a style of unarmed combat that he named Hakko-ryu, a style that Bethany found was very similar to his descendants Gentle Fist. Bethany, on the other hand, didn't really have a specific style of combat, she usually just did whatever she had to at the time, as she would just have to hold out long enough to use her Rinnegan. The two got into their opening stances. There was a single second of stillness, before a wind blew through the clearing, sending a single leaf fluttering to the ground between them.

Before it had even touched the ground, Hamura had _moved_. He streaked towards his twin sister at a speed too fast for the normal human eye to see. In an instant he was in front of Hagoromo and sent a palm trust at her face at blinding speeds. Bethany, with her activated Rinnegan, could easily see the Chakra laced through her brother's palm, and dodged just in time. A blast of condensed Chakra erupted out of Hamura's hand and blew past Hagoromo's face, impacting with the tree behind her, and shattering the trunk into splinters. The Rinnegan wielder had been pushed back slightly by the edge of her brother's attack, but was not injured. Hagoromo turned to look behind herself from out of the corner of her eye. That had been the Gentle Fist Air Palm Jutsu, it seemed that her brother had mastered it very well.

Hamura continued his line of attack, keeping the 'dance' going. Bethany dodged every single attack, deflecting and blocking thrusts aimed at her vitals. The white eyed boy sent another Air Palm at his sister. Hagoromo held out her hand, while her Rinnegan glowed with ethereal light and a clear barrier appeared around the girl. The Byakugan jutsu impacted with the Chakra barrier and was absorbed into Hagoromo's body. Hamura stopped and stood looking at the other child. "You have mastered that technique very well sister," he stated. Hagoromo smiled, "thank you brother, and I just thought of a name for it, the Preta Path" she said.

Hamura nodded, "I see, well, let us stop for now, I am beginning to become hungry" he replied. Hagoromo nodded and the two siblings returned home for lunch.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Bethany sat eating her lunch quietly, a pensive look on her face. **_"You seem to be troubled about something"_** Hagoromo stated from inside her mind. The girl didn't respond for a moment, before she replied in her thoughts _'Sennin-Sama, I have a bad feeling about the near future, perhaps Hamura and I should move out- you know, find a temple or such and study there, it would make it easier to train if we no longer had to worry about Kaa-Sama finding out about our Chakra as easily- plus it would help us with our meditation'_ she thought.

The male Sage thought for a moment, **_"perhaps- then again, it may just cause Kaguya to lose herself faster if she does not have to worry about you two, or she could get worse because she thinks the two of you are leaving her"_** he replied. Bethany frowned, there _was_ that possibility of course, but she really wanted to be ready for the trials to come, and she couldn't really do that _here_. _'Well, the only thing to do is ask'_ she thought to herself. Hamura looked at his twin sister, "is something wrong sister?" Hagoromo stayed silent for a moment, before she spoke, "Hamura, you know how we have spoken about bringing peace to this world?" she asked quietly.

The white-haired, white eyed boy nodded, "yes, I remember, what about it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "What would you think about leaving and going to a temple to learn from monks about peace?" she asked. Hamura looked down in thought, "if it is something that you would like to do sister, then I will follow you" he replied. The girl frowned, "I appreciate that brother, really I do, but if you do not want to-" the white-haired boy shook his head, "I do want to go with you, and I want to bring peace to this world alongside you- I truly do Hagoromo, I want to help other people and I want to help you, you are my sister and I love you- I would not let you do something so hard on your own" he replied.

Hagoromo smiled with tears in her eyes, "thank you brother, Hamura- you truly do mean everything to me" she replied, enveloping the boy in a hug. Hamura stiffened, shocked slightly, before he relaxed and hugged Hagoromo back, "you are welcome sister, and know that I will always stand by your side". The red-haired girl closed her eyes in gratitude.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Hagoromo breathed deeply in- and out again. Within her mind, Sennin-Sama was encouraging her to keep calm as she walked to her mother's room. As she stood by the doorway, the girl knocked on the cave wall beside the fabric curtain hiding the inside of the room from view. "Come in" Kaguya called. The red-haired girl opened the door to see her mother sitting on her bed.

"Hagoromo-Chan, is there something you needed?" she asked softly. The girl took a deep breath, "I have a request Kaa-Sama, on both my own behalf and Hamura's" she said, forcing herself to remain calm. Kaguya tilted her head to the side, "yes?" she asked. _'Stay calm'_ she thought. "Hamura and I would like your permission to leave and travel to the temple a few miles away so that we may study the ways of peace" she stated, bowing her head. Bethany prayed that her mother would stay calm.

Kaguya was silent for a long moment, making the girl extremely nervous. She had to force herself not to fidget. "As long as you stay safe and write to me at least every month, I will allow you both to do this" she replied softly. Hagoromo's eyes widened and her breath stilled in shock, however she shook herself out of it quickly. The girl bowed, "thank you Kaa-Sama, I promise we will" she replied, straightening up and walking out of the room calmly, though inside she was doing back-flips in joy.

 _'Yes! We can go! Hamura will be so excited when I tell him!'_ she thought, smiling the whole way back to her brother.

To Be Continued


	8. Chapter 8

Bethany and Hamura were packing the clothes that they were going to be taking with them. They worked mostly in silence, the only sounds being the rustling of cloth. As she placed the last item into her pack, the girl looked up, "are you ready brother?" she asked. The white-haired, white-eyed boy looked up, picking up his own meagre pack and placing it onto his back, "yes" he replied simply. Hagoromo nodded and the two ten year olds left the room that they had lived in for the last 10 years. Walking through the cave that had been their home for so long, Bethany and Hamura entered into the fresh air of the outside.

Kaguya was standing there with a sad look on her face. As they neared her, the woman smiled sadly, "Hagoromo, Hamura," she said softly. Hagoromo stepped up, "this is not goodbye Kaa-Sama, we will see each other again," she paused, trying not to think about how Sennin-Sama and Hamura saw their mother again in the manga and anime. Pulling herself back to the present, she was just in time to catch Kaguya wrapping her arms around her decidedly slim form. The girl stiffened, however, Kaguya seemed to have her own answer for why she did. "I am truly sorry for not being around as often as I should have been, but I promise- the next time we see each other I will be a better mother to the both of you" she said softly.

So she thought the reason why her daughter had flinched was because she wasn't used to her being around and receiving affection from her. That at least was a good cover. The Rabbit Goddess pulled back and hugged her son this time, "I hope you know that I will always love you- both of you, my precious children" she said softly. Hagoromo nodded, "we know, and we love you too Kaa-Sama" she replied. Once she had stepped back, the red-haired future Sage smiled, and before she lost her nerve, turned and began to walk away. Hamura followed behind until he was right next to her, and the girl felt better. With her twin brother beside her, the two children of the Rabbit Goddess entered into the forest that surrounded their home.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The two Otsutsuki Clan members walked quietly through the forest that had been theirs for as long as they could remember. The twins took this time to use their respective Dojutsu to memorise it's familiar trees and details. It was likely the last time they'd see it, at least for a while. Their white robes brushed against the ground as they walked, rustling through the fallen leaves that littered the ground. It was Autumn now and would likely be winter soon. The air was already cooling down.

Hagoromo hoped it wouldn't take too long for them to reach a temple or monastery. Otherwise they might just freeze. The red-head took a deep breath to calm her nerves. They wouldn't freeze, they had a role to complete in history- they wouldn't die here, they couldn't. _'Sennin-Sama, do you remember where the Temple is?'_ she asked. _"Yes, it is 500 miles West from here, it may take a few days to get there on foot Bethany-Chan"_ The Sage replied. _'Thank you Sennin-Sama'_ Bethany replied. So they walked West, Hamura following her dutifully, with an unspoken assurance that she knew where they were going. As it was getting colder the darker it got, the two enshrouded themselves in their Chakra to block out the cold.

It was late into the night that the two children found a suitable place to camp and rest. They stopped under a thick canopy of trees and set up a fire and their blankets. Then the two children ate some of the fruit they had brought with them. Soon enough the two fell asleep, wrapped up tightly with their camp fire burning brightly between them.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The next day as the sun peeked over the horizon Bethany was the first to wake up. She stretched and yawned, before waking her brother. Both ate a quick breakfast and stamped out the remains of the fire, before they packed up their camp and began their journey again. The two walked in silence, the light fluttering of their robes and barely audible footfalls the only sound announcing their presence in the world. Now that they were away from Kaguya, the two begin to relax more. As much as they love their mother, she does make them nervous, more so in recent years.

Focusing a portion of her ocean-sized Chakra reserves to her eyes, Hagoromo activated her Rinnegan, the one-day legendary eyes scanning the road ahead of them as they walked. Hamura watched as his sister leisurely examined the world through her powerful eyes and couldn't help but shudder. Hagoromo was getting stronger every day, and it somewhat scared him- he got the feeling that he hadn't even seen half of what those eyes could do. I mean seriously? Reviving the dead? Absorbing a limitless amount of Chakra? What else would she be able to do once she and her eyes had matured? And what of his own eyes? What could they do? So far he found that he could see long distances away and see the energy called 'Chakra', as well as sending out a burst of compressed air laced with his own Chakra to destroy things. How many more of his own abilities lay hidden? What secrets did his eyes hold, just waiting to be unlocked? How much stronger would he become?

Hamura knew he wanted to find out. He wanted to be able to help Hagoromo with her dream of bringing peace to this world. And he wanted to be able to protect himself. He still remembered what happened when both he and sister were five years old. When that demon attacked him and tried to kill his sister. He had jumped in the way of the attack. He thought he had died. That feeling of weightlessness yet emptiness, the feeling of not having to worry- net even having to breath was freeing in a way, but he wanted to go back to Hagoromo. That demon was still there, his sister could very well be dead for all he knew. But before he could do anything, a green light engulfed him. The next thing he knew he was breathing again.

When Hamura next opened his eyes again, he couldn't remember what had happened to him for a moment, before it all came flooding back and he panicked. He had calmed down when his sister had told him she'd killed the demon that they had been fighting, but was astonished when he found out exactly _how._ Hagoromo had awakened eyes like their mother and had used them to banish the demon from this world. Not only that, she had used her eyes to restore him to life, as he had apparently died. When he found out just how upset and scared his ever calm and peaceful sister had been over his death, however short it had been, Hamura had made himself a promise. He promised himself that he would become strong, so that his precious sister never had to suffer like that again. He would be able to protect himself and they would both bring peace to this world.

That was what he promised. So when he found out that he, too had a 'Dojutsu' as his sister had called it, he had sworn that he would master it, and stand by Hagoromo's side, no matter what. Hagoromo was scanning everything avidly with her Rinnegan activated. She was also using her sensing ability for all it was worth, feeling out the area around them. This was the first time she had really left the home that had been hers for the last ten years and explored the rest of the world. It seemed so huge and amazing, so beautiful. But she knew for all it's beauty and expansiveness, that it could all be ruined so easily in this day and age. The people of this time started wars like a child cries over breaking a toy. It was so easy to say or do something that would cause someone else to retaliate or cause another land to hate someone else.

This was why it had been so hard for the original Sage to bring peace, she was coming to understand. The people of this time were more divided than at any other, and it was that division that caused the fighting to break out as easily as it did. Of course it wasn't as bad as in the future, but there was nothing that she could do about that. Right now, all Hagoromo could do was try and help the people of this time forge connections with each other- bonds that can't be broken. This was the original way of Ninshu, she's come to realise. Creating those bonds, forging connections with all people through their Chakra and allowing understanding to flow through those bonds. It was truly something that could bring peace to this world. If she could live long enough to ensure it turned out that way. Alas, she had the feeling that it was not to be. Hagoromo-Sama, the original Sage of the Six Paths, tried to use this method to bring peace, but he as well, had not had the needed lifespan to see it through to the end.

Without Sennin-Sama's guidance and wisdom, the people had to devise their own uses for the energy he'd given them. And that was how Chakra, originally given as a gift to unite people, was turned into a weapon for war. Turned from it's given purpose of a path to peace and understanding into a means to kill and tear people apart even further. Bethany sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought. _"It may indeed"_ Sennin-Sama agreed, _"perhaps I was too naive in my beliefs while I lived. To have such blind faith in humanity, which had been fighting and killing each other long before even my mother came to this world, to leave it without any assurance that our sacrifices meant anything what-so-ever- I knew how humans were, and yet I believed that just by giving them the tools to peace, they would end up using it the way it was meant to be used- but perhaps this time we may find the solution to that together"_ he said.

Bethany hummed in agreement. Hamura glanced at his twin curiously, but didn't speak. It would be at least another day and a half until they got to the temple. And then, the path to peace would truly begin.

To Be Continued


	9. Chapter 9

Walking through a forest, Hagoromo knew they were almost at the temple where they would hopefully be allowed to learn the ways of peace and harmony for the next few years. She knew because Hamura had had his Teneseigan activated, and he could probably see it from where they were. The two continued calmly on their way, no sign at all that they had just been on a three day long journey. Though she appeared utterly calm on the outside, the red-haired girl was squealing in excitement mentally. She knew that it wouldn't be exciting or anything, but ever since being reborn as Hagoromo, the girl had wanted to learn the ways of peace, not only for the future, but because she was genuinely curious.

It was something new, and therefore interesting. As the two ten year olds approached the gate to the temple, they saw two young monks standing guard there. The two looked utterly unconcerned as they watched the children approach. When they reached the gate and the two guards, Hagoromo stepped up and bowed "greetings Monk-San, my name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and this is my twin brother Hamura, may we speak with your priest please?" she asked politely. The two monks looked at each other, before one spoke, "I will go, you two stay here and wait" he said. When the red-haired girl nodded her head in understanding, the young monk walked into the temple grounds. After waiting a good half an hour, which Hagromo was sure had to be a test of some kind, the guard monk returned with a middle aged man.

He was dressed as you would expect a priest or monk to be dressed as, in robes and with a customised Shakujo held in his left hand. The man stopped in front of the two children and looked them over, "my name is Komen Yuko, who are you children and why do you wish to speak with me?" he asked. This time it was Hamura that stepped up, "Yuko-Shishou, we have a favour to ask of you" he said. Hagoromo took over then and bowed low towards the head monk, "Yuko-Shishou, we humbly request that we be allowed to study the ways of peace and harmony within the walls of your temple- we have travelled a long way, and our only desire is to learn from you alongside your other disciples- we wish for nothing more" she said.

The man stared at the two for a long moment, before saying: "rise young one," Hagoromo did so and the priest continued, "please follow me". The two siblings followed without a word into the temple grounds. They watched many young men and women performing many various activities, such as meditating, practicing Tai-Chi and reading different tomes. As they walked, the group attracted the attention of many, albeit subtly. The monks and monks in-training watched them discreetly, but the twins could still feel their eyes on them. When they finally entered the main temple where the priest lived, Komen opened the door and gestured for them to enter first. When they were inside the man closed the door and led them to a Spartan room.

As the three sat, the priest took out a teapot and three cups, "tea?" he asked. Hagoromo nodded, "please" she replied politely. As the tea was brewing, the priest looked the two children over, "so, would you be so kind as to tell me your names young ones?" he asked with a soft lilt to his voice. The red-haired girl bowed her head, "my name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki" she replied. Her brother went next, "I am Hamura Otsutsuki, Hagoromo's twin brother". The man they sat before simply raised one eyebrow. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Hagoromo was impressed, it was not as easy as one might think to completely mask ones emotions like that. After all, the name Otsutsuki was fairly well known, as was their mother- she was known as the Rabbit Goddess and many people knew her name, though it was rarely spoken out loud due to fear of the woman.

Sennin-Sama had been the one to tell Bethany that, and, in all honesty, it wasn't that shocking to the girl- given what she already knew of her mother's reputation. Komen stayed silent for a moment, before speaking once more, "you are the children of the Rabbit Goddess then" he replied curtly. Hagoromo nodded, "yes" was all she said. Sometimes simplicity was best after all. The priest folded his hands before him on the table, "why come here?" he asked. Hagoromo bowed her head, "as I stated before Yuko-Shishou, my brother and I wish to learn the ways of peace and harmony so that we may one day unite this world under the banner of peace, instead of it continuing to be corrupted due to war" she replied.

Komen's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "do you know of the wars of the world?" he asked. Hagoromo tilted her head to the side slightly, "we have not experienced them first hand, no- but I possess a powerful sensing ability- I can feel people's emotions, including their dark ones," she paused, "I have felt the hatred that plagues this world due to the many wars that corrupt it, and I have also felt the fear and pain of those affected by these wars," the girl lowered her head, "my brother may not share my emotions sensing, but he can feel the unease and pain I feel from this all the same- we both wish to dedicate our lives to this cause, to bringing peace and understanding to all the worlds people, but we cannot do this if we know nothing about what it is that we wish to bring," Hagoromo bowed low to the priest, her forehead almost touching the wooden floor boards beneath her, "please, we beg you, allow us to learn the ways of peace so that we may share it with the world" she begged.

Komen stayed silent a moment, thinking it over. They really had nothing to lose by accepting these two into their temple to learn, and much more to gain. Not only could they help spread the teachings of peace for them, but they had been having trouble with bandits lately, and if the rumours that he'd heard about the power of the Rabbit Goddess were true, and her children had inherited their mothers incredible and terrifying power, they might be able to protect his temple and it's monks while they were here. Any way you looked at it, it was a golden opportunity for both parties. So, with the safety and teachings of his temple in mind, Komen Yuko held out his hand, "alright, we have a deal Otsutsuki-Sama" he said. Hagoromo took the man's- her new teacher's hand- "please, call me Hagoromo, and thank you, we shall be forever grateful for your hospitality and spiritual guidance" she replied.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Komen led the Otsutsuki siblings to their new living quarters, which turned out to be a room as bare as the priests meeting room. However, it had soft beds and a wardrobe to hang their clothes so that they wouldn't get dirty. "Please forgive the meagre living arrangements, but it is a custom within our temple to not dwell on physical possessions, and to teach our beginners to value life above monetary wealth" he explained. However, Hagoromo waved his apology away, "no apology needed Shishou- my brother and I are used to living simply- in fact our family lives in a cave" she replied lightly, a small smile on her otherwise stoic face.

The head monk blinked at that, trying to process that the Rabbit Goddess and her children lived in a cave, before shaking his head to rid it of those thoughts, "alright then, as it is only midday, the two of you may explore the temple as you wish, however, please try not to disturb any of the other monks" he replied, before bowing shortly, and turning to leave, but not before catching both Hagoromo and Hamura bowing back in gratitude. Then he left the room and closed the door softly behind himself. The two children removed their packs and unpacked the small amount of possessions they had brought with them, then, on an unspoken agreement, they left the room to explore the temple.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The rest of the temple was fairly plain as well, and the two got a lot of odd looks as they silently wondered the grounds. They soon came to an empty part of a courtyard, a Sakura tree blooming in the corner. Hagoromo looked around. There was no one here. That was perfect for them to do a little meditation. Or rather she. To her knowledge, Hamura had never actually meditated before. The girl sat down on the ground under the shade of the tree and got into the position where she felt the most relaxed. "Sister?" Hamura's voice called, before she could begin to clear her mind or even close her eyes.

The red-haired girl looked up at her twin, "yes Brother, is something wrong?" she asked calmly. The white-haired boy shook his head, "no, nothing's wrong, I was just wondering if you would mind if I joined you in your meditation this time?" he asked. Hagoromo's eyes softened, and she nodded, "alright, come, sit with me brother" she said gently. The other Otsutsuki sibling did as he was told and sat before his sister, "now, find the position most comfortable to you and relax," once again, Hamura, followed Hagoromo's instructions, and relaxed his tense muscles, "good, next you must even out your breathing, make sure it's slow and steady, but also deep," the girl paused again, waiting for the white-haired boy to comply.

When he had, she moved onto the next step, "now, focus your mind, not on the outside world, for that will only distract you, instead, focus on your own self, your breathing," the boy listened to the sound of his even breathes, absently noting that they were almost rhythmical. "Your heartbeat," Hamura could feel his heart beating, pumping blood through his veins, and he could hear the thumping noise it made: _'th-thump, th-thump'_ "turn you mind inward, feel your Chakra moving inside you" Hagoromo's words had now become almost monotone, and Hamura let them guide his mind. As he focused, he could indeed feel the warm rushing of energy that they had come to call Chakra, flowing inside of his body. "Good," his sister's voice sounded distant, even though she was sitting right across from him, it was as though she were calling to him from far away.

"Follow the flow of your Chakra back, back through your body, your cells, until you reach your very core, where the flow of energy is strongest, find your centre, where all your Chakra is created," Hamura continued to follow his Chakra back through his body, until he found it, his centre. "Hold onto it, do not let it go, keep your focus Hamura, you are almost their brother" she said, but the boy could feel his focus slipping. Suddenly he was brought back to reality by a hand on his shoulder. Hamura's eyes snapped open, to see his sister leaning over him, "are you alright brother?" she asked, a worried look on her face. Hamura sat up, "yes, I am fine, what happened?" he asked. Hagoromo frowned, "you were so close to actively connecting with your Chakra, to reaching your centre, but then your mental focus slipped and you lost consciousness, while your Chakra itself went wild" she explained.

The white-haired boy sat up and stared around, to find them in their new room, with Yuko-Shishou also sitting by his bedside, "no one was hurt, as I used my Preta Path to absorb you rampant Chakra before it could cause any harm to anyone, but I just cannot understand why your Chakra reacted the way it did" Hagoromo explained. Hamura ran his hand over his face, "in any case- thank you for stopping me before I could unintentionally hurt anyone sister- I am extremely grateful" he replied, bowing his head a fraction, though to Hagoromo, this was a sign that he was more grateful than he could express in words. Suddenly, Komen spoke up, "so I was right- you two do possess the same power as your mother" he stated, staring at both children with indeterminable eyes.

Hagoromo bowed her head, "we do, and normally both of us have a lot more control over this energy that we call Chakra than that, but this time it was different- this time Hamura was accessing much more of his energy than he was used to, and that caused him to lose control over it- I apologise, I did not know that our meditation would cause you or your fellow monks so many problems" she stated, and seemed to be genuinely sorry. The head monk tilted his head to the side, "no, no, it is quite alright, no one was hurt, and now you know better for next time- however, I would like you to warn those around you the next time you are going to meditate, to keep things like this from happening again, understand?" he asked, but with a stern undertone to his voice. The two bowed their heads in acknowledgement, "hai, Komen-Shishou, arigato" Hagoromo replied for the both of them.

It was shortly after that that Komen left the room and the two siblings relaxed, "well, that could have gone better I think, do you not agree brother?" Hagoromo asked with a slight smile on her face. Hamura only nodded slightly in agreement. Shortly after that, the two children fell asleep, exhausted after a long and tiering day.

To Be Continued


	10. Chapter 10

It had been four years since Hagoromo and Hamura had arrived at the temple to train and learn about peace and the two of them were now 14 years old. Hagoromo had written letters to Kaguya during this time, and received some as well, though all they said was that their Kaa-Sama was proud of them, missed them and was well. During that time, the monks had gotten used to the two strange siblings and their mannerisms- it helped that both were so kind, though Hamura was more stoic than his sister. And that Hagoromo was so humble. So now, none of the monks or Yuko-Shishou minded that much, and some of them even watched the spar's of the two siblings.

Hagoromo had explained to Komen Shishou that the spars were needed so that they could learn to control their abilities and be able to protect themselves as well as keep from hurting people accidently. After a while the head monk decided that it was alright and sometimes even watched the spars himself. Today was another spar between the Otsutsuki siblings and everyone crowded around to watch. Hagoromo and Hamura stood on opposite sides of a circle drawn onto the ground.

Everyone was silent, allowing the two children to focus. Suddenly, Hamura was behind his twin. The teenage girl smirked slightly- it seemed like he had learned to suppress his Chakra at last. Focusing some of the energy to his hands, the white-haired teen sent a flurry of lightning fast jabs at his sister's Chakra points, which he had by now memorised, after spending so long living and sparing with the girl. With her eyes, Hagoromo saw each and every attack, as well as how much Chakra her brother was using.

As she dodged, the red-haired teenager subconsciously noted that Hamura was gathering a fairly large amount of his Chakra to his palms. The girl jumped back and thrust her arm out just as her brother thrust out his hands: "Gentle Fist Double Air Palm!" he cried, sending large double waves of destructive air at his twin. Just as the blast of Chakra shot forwards, Hagoromo cried out: "Shinra Tensei!" The two repulsive forces collided for the briefest of moments, before the Rinnegan Jutsu won out and blasted through the Double Air Palm.

Hamura was just barely able to get his arms in front of his face, before his sister's technique hit him full force and sent him flying through the air. Before he hit the ground however, the white-haired boy flipped himself around in mid air and landed on his feet, skidding back a few feet before he managed to stop himself, flipping forwards, and shooting another Air Palm at Hagoromo. This time it was too quick and sent the girl flying into the air. However, much to everyone's astonishment, the female twin was able to stop herself in the air. Everyone began murmuring in wonder. They knew the two children could do amazing things, but flying as well?

When Hagoromo didn't feel a hard impact with the ground, the girl looked around, finding herself three meters in the air. The red-head whooped and began doing cartwheels in mid-air. She'd always wanted to fly and now she could! Hamura watched his sister with slight envy, however, he knew that most people didn't have either of their abilities, and so jealousy was a useless emotion to foster. Hagoromo looked down at the ground, "Hamura, come fly with me!" she called, floating down so that she was only a few meters above the ground and offering her hand to her twin. The only boy of the Otsutsuki family looked nervous for the first time since she'd known him, "I would rather not sister, I am fine to allow you to have free reign of the sky" he replied.

Just then their Shishou ran in, "Hagoromo! Hamura!" he cried, pausing only for a second at the sight before him. After all, it wasn't everyday that you saw a human being flying. Then he shook himself off at the expectant looks, "it's terrible, a village a few miles away is being attacked by demonic creatures!" he exclaimed. Both siblings gasped in horror, "where!" Hagoromo demanded, utterly serious. Komen pointed to the North, "just a few miles North of here, you'll see the fires and smoke from up there, please hurry, they are killing everything!" the older monk begged.

Hagoromo nodded, "hai! Hamura, it will be faster if we fly" she stated, holding out her hand once again. The white-haired boy swallowed his fear and took his sisters hand. The two flew into the air and headed North. Indeed, they could see the black smoke from here, and the fires raging all over the village, "we need to hurry!" The future Sage called over the rushing wind. Then the two sped away from the temple.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

As they neared the village, the brother and sister could see just how bad it was. There was a small hoard of demons running around, but the village itself was small also, so it seemed like a lot to the frantic and terrified people running around screaming. Many buildings were on fire or being destroyed, and people were being torn apart or even eaten. Hagoromo gagged at the sight, but the two steeled themselves with the thought that they were going to save these people. As they slowly landed, the twisted creatures that were in that area of the village turned to look at them, eyeing them like they were their next meal.

Their eyes stayed fixed on the two new-comers. Hagoromo closed her eyes and took a deep breath- something which proved to be a mistake, for all she breathed in was the smell of smoke, death and the rot of the demons. It almost caused the girl to gag, but she forced herself to keep her composure. Then she spoke: "I am Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and this is my brother Hamura Otsutsuki, we have come to save this village- you have two options, you can leave this place now and leave it alive," here she paused, and opened her eyes. Her Rinnegan glared at the foul creatures, "or you can die where you stand" she stated in an emotionless voice.

Hamura, who was standing next to her shivered minutely at the sound of it. The demons screamed and lunged at the two. Hagoromo raised her arm, "Shinra Tensei" she stated. Once again the ripple of gravity blasted forth, only this time it was much stronger than the one she used when sparing with her brother. The attack tore up the earth and literally ripped apart the attacking demons. "Hamura, go, get the remaining villagers somewhere safe" Hagoromo said in a commanding voice, looking at him from the corner of her eye. In an instant her brother had vanished, off to do as she asked. He wouldn't dare disobey her, not with the mood she was in right now.

Once she had sensed that her brother was gone, the red-haired girl turned her full attention back to the attacking demons.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Meanwhile, Hamura was running through the village, taking out any demons that he found, and grabbing men, women and children and moving them out of harm's way for now. Once they were safe for the moment, the white-haired boy turned to the disgusting creatures, who ran towards him. The boy activated his eyes, and suddenly he could see every minute detail. The younger of the Otsutsuki twins stayed in his original place and got into his fighting stance. When the first few demons reached him, Hamura simply hit the area where it's heart was, stopping it and killing the monster instantly.

Then he repeated.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

As one demon ran towards her, Hagoromo absorbed all the Chakra from it and threw it away. Ten more attacked. "Enough!" she cried, enhancing her voice with Chakra, so that even her brother heard it from all the way across the village. Gathering the Chakra she had absorbed, the teenage girl focused it to her left arm, hoping to destroy all the demons in the area with one wide range Shinra Tensei. To her surprise, the arm itself split apart, and transformed into a metal cannon-like machine. Hagoromo smirked slightly and aimed it at one of the demons who were attacking her. When she fired it, the blast of Chakra vaporised the creature on contact.

With a single thought, her body was coated in the Asura Paths mechanical armour. Then the girl rushed into the mass of insane monsters, taking them all out with single punches to the head or heart. It was gruesome and Hagoromo refused to look at the numerous bodies of the demons she was killing, but she assured herself that she did give them all a chance to escape, and they were killing these people. After around twenty more minutes, the remaining demons ran off, leaving Hagoromo standing their covered in the blood of their slain comrades. Shuddering, the teen cut off the Chakra to the mechanised armour, letting it fall off her body and taking all the residue with it.

After a moment of simply calming her beating heart, a voice caught the girls attention, "Sister?" Hagoromo turned around to find her twin and what was left of the villagers. She bowed, "I am sorry, if we had gotten here faster, this loss of life might have been avoided" she said sadly. The red-haired teenager straightened up, her sad eyes catching the attention of the village leader, who was one of only twenty survivors out of fifty, "those eyes, what are they?" he asked. "They are-" Hagoromo paused mid-sentence, her own eyes widening, "my eyes, of course" she breathed, before forming two hand signs, "I would advise you all to move back, I need some space for this" the girl said, moulding a massive amount of Chakra, but she could tell that it was only about three quarters of her current reserves.

Everyone did as she said, and watched as Hagoromo formed her fingers into a strange shape. Then she clasped her hands together, as though in prayer, "Gedo: art of Rinne Rebirth!" she cried. Then a giant white shape with a face and Rinnegan eyes burst out of the ground. It opened it's mouth to extreme proportions and fired out dozens of green lights into the sky. As each light came down again, it hit a body of the dead, and began healing each and every one it touched. When the lights had faded, the King Of Hell disappeared in a cloud of smoke and, to everyone's amazement, the people began opening their eyes- as though they had only been sleeping.

Cries of joy and disbelief rang through the air, as families embraced one another, parent was reunited with child, wife with husband, brother with sister. The leader of the village turned to the girl- the child who had performed this miracle and fell to his knees, "oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he exclaimed, "how can we ever repay you for all you have done for us?" The red-haired girl blushed, "please, you do not need to thank us, only protect your people like a good leader should, we will be on our way now, and do not worry, we were happy to help" she stated, before both Hagoromo and Hamura left the village and began the journey back to their temple on foot.

Yes they wouldn't need anything more- only to protect the innocent and save this world.

To Be Continued


	11. Chapter 11

Two years had passed since the Otsutsuki twins had saved the village from the demons that had been attacking it. Both of them were now 16 years old. Today the two teenagers were relaxing in meditation. As she had grown, Hagoromo's Chakra reserves had grown with her until they were even larger than Sennin-Sama's. And this was even without the Juubi sealed inside her yet. The elder Sage said it was because of her Yin Chakra. Since she had already lived for years before being reborn into this world, her Spiritual energy was extremely high. So they were still growing and hadn't stopped yet. It was pretty incredible, but also surprising that her body could handle that much Chakra at this age.

The girl also found it hard to believe that it had already been 16 years since her rebirth into this world. The two siblings didn't really have birthdays, but they did mark the day they had been born by spending the whole day with each other, no training, no meditating. Just the two of them doing whatever they wanted. Hagoromo had to say that being with her twin brother, her other half was everything she could want on such a day. "Hagoromo, Hamura" a voice behind them says. The two turn to the voice to find their master standing before them. The red-haired girl bowed, "Komen-Shishou, is there something wrong?" Hagoromo asked. Komen nods slightly, "you two are able to heal people of illness and injury, correct?" he asked, but the tone of his voice is slightly strained.

Hagoromo tilted her head slightly in acquiescence, "hai Shishou, that is one use we have created for our Chakra- may I ask why you want to know this?" she asked curiously, but with a feeling of worry building inside her. "There is someone at the front gate that wishes to see you" he replied, leading the two siblings to the aforementioned place. As they reached the gate, the twins saw a woman with long black hair standing there with a worried look on her face. She was looking down at the ground and had one hand against her cheek. Komen cleared his throat, "Hagoromo, Hamura, this is Haori, she is a local of the village the two of you saved two years ago, and she asked to see you urgently" he explained, as the woman, now identified as Haori, raised her eyes to them, and Hagoromo could see the fear in them. Komen turned to leave, "I must go back now, I trust you can handle this yourself?" he asked.

All he received in return was a nod, and he walked away, sure that his most promising disciples could handle this. The woman, Haori, stared at them with wide, tear-filled eyes, "you- you are Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki?" she asked, raising her hands out in front of her and shakily walking up to the other young woman, "oh please, please help us!" she begged, he trembling hands taking hold of the red-haired woman's kimono. Tears began streaming down her face, "please, I beg you, I don't know how much longer we can last, and my village wanted me to seek help from the Guardian Sages and-" she rushed out, now sobbing uncontrollably, body shaking so much that she looked like she was about to collapse. Hagoromo caught the woman in her arms and held her up before her legs could give way, "shh, easy now, it is alright, we will help however we can, but you must first try to calm down and speak slowly, so that we can understand the problem" she replied gently.

Haori sobbed for a few more minutes, before she felt calm enough to speak again, "please, I know you already saved my village once before, but now, we need your help again" she said, as Hagoromo handed her a handkerchief to dry her eyes with. She took a deep breath once she'd calmed down enough to begin talking again, "ever since you saved our village two years ago, the people of my village have praised you as the Guardian Sages- protectors of the innocent," the girl wiped her eyes, "but only a few weeks ago, a plague-like disease has taken hold of the children of my village- at first we thought it was just a regular cold or flu, but then it became worse- the symptoms are terrible and cause much pain to those who become infected, before finally killing them," Haori sniffed, wiping her eyes, "we have already lost several children to the plague, and more are becoming sick by the day- please, I beg of you, help us!" she cried.

Hagoromo and Hamura looked at each other for a brief moment, before turning back to Haori, "do not worry, we will help your people, I promise" Hagoromo said with a serious look. The other woman lit up, "you will? Oh thank you! Thank you!" she sobbed in relief.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

On arriving in the village that they'd saved one year ago, the Otsutsuki twins could defiantly feel the difference. There was an air of despair and grief surrounding the village and it was so strong that it was almost physical. Hagoromo turned to her brother, "Hamura, it will be easier if we know just how many children we have to heal" she said. The white-haired teenager nodded and activated his Byakugan, looking around the village from where he stood. "There are 20 children who are sick right now, but they are scattered all over the village" he replied, deactivating his eyes, which had still not changed from the Byakugan to the Teneseigan yet. Hagoromo idly wondered when they would.

The teenager nodded, "alright, you take half the children while I heal the other half, go" she ordered. Hamura nodded and headed to one of the houses where he could see a small figure with his eyes. Knocking on the door, it opened to reveal a middle aged woman with deep worry lines o her face as well as large dark bags under her eyes, "hello, my name is Hamura Otsutsuki, my sister and I are here to heal your villages' children, may I come in?" he asked. The woman hesitated for a moment, before the sound of dreadful coughing seemed to make up her mind. She stood to the side and the white-haired teen walked inside. The house was plain, with only a few personal belongings scattered here and there. Hamura was led through the house until they came to a door. By the sound of coughing coming from behind it, it seemed that the sick child was in here.

The woman knocked on the door, "Marie, it's Mama, there's a man here to help you- are you awake?" she asked softly. "Come in Mama" a girl's voice said softly. Her mother opened the door, and Hamura was able to see the girl called Marie. She seemed to be only around eight years old if he had to guess and was dressed in a white Yukata that only seemed to make the paleness of her skin more noticeable. She too had black rings around her eyes, probably having been kept awake due to her illness. Her pale blond hair and green eyes, seemed to be dwarfing her own body with how gaunt she looked. Hamura frowned. Despite what people may think, he wasn't any less caring than his sister, and seeing just how bad these children were, really made his heart twist. Marie smiled at him, before her face morphed into one of pain and she began coughing once again, her small body trembling with the force. What really spurred the man into action was the blood that began to seep through Maries fingers.

"Marie-Chan!" the girls mother cried, but Hamura had already moved. Gently taking hold of the child, he wiped the blood from her face and hand with a damp rag that had been left in the room and laid her down in her bed, "It is alright, I will heal you" he said, maybe not in the gentlest of tones, but it was defiantly reassuring. Marie smiled softly, as the man opened her kimono and focused healing Chakra to his hands.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Hagoromo, after seeing one of the children, a little boy named Ken, was sure of what this disease was. She may never have physically come into contact with it in her old life, but she had heard enough about it to figure it out from the symptoms, _'flu-like symptoms and the sick coughing up blood? This defiantly looks like Influenza to me'_ she thought, walking up to another house on her side of the village. It was a good thing they had been called, or all of these children, probably the adults too would have died.

As much as she hated needles in her old life, she had to admit having them was better than this. However, she did wonder why only the children were getting sick. She would have to check the adults later, but right now she had more children to heal. As she got permission from the man and woman to see the child, who she discovered they had found and decided to look after, Hagoromo wondered if this village had been saved in the previous timeline, or if the Influenza had wiped everyone out. _"I am afraid I do not remember, it was a very long time ago for me after all"_ Sennin-Sama replied from her mindscape. The girl acquiesced, and went to enter the bedroom of the little girl.

" _Wait! I sense something"_ the sage said. Hagoromo paused just outside the door to the Childs room, _"go in, I have to see this child"_ he said. The red-haired girl shrugged internally and opened the door. The sight of the child however, caused her to freeze in place. The little girl was around seven or so years old, she had long white hair falling down her back and pooling on the bed and two long locks of hair in front of her shoulders that fell to her chest in length. Pale skin that made her look incredibly dainty and white eyes to match. Oval-shaped eyebrows sat on her forehead above her white eyes. Both future and male Sage stared at the girl with wide eyes. _'This- this is impossible! She looks exactly like a child version of Kaguya before she ate the fruit of the God Tree!'_ Bethany thought, unable to take her eyes off the girl.

The child blinked, opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off before she even started by a fit of coughing. This snapped Hagoromo out of her shock, and she walked swiftly over to the bed, kneeling down, "it is alright, I am here to help" she said in a soothing voice, placing one hand on the girls shoulder to steady her and the other on her chest. Sending healing Chakra to her palm, the Otsutsuki began to heal the damage to her lungs that had been caused by the Influenza. "Who are you?" the girl asked, and, despite being extremely young, the child's voice still sounded slightly like her mother, so that the other girl flinched slightly. Taking a breath to clam her nerves, the red-haired teen looked up at the face of the child.

The only thing she saw was innocent curiosity. Forcing her nervousness away, Hagoromo answered truthfully, "my name is Hagoromo, I am here to heal the children of this village of their illness- may I ask what your name is?" she asked in a friendly voice. The other girl didn't say anything for a moment, before she spoke: "my name is Kagura, how are you able to heal us?" she asked. The red-head paused for a moment, before she continued, "family inheritance" she replied, after thinking of what she could call it. Kagura tilted her head slightly, before she nodded. The two lapsed into silence until the girl who looked like her mother spoke again, "I have something like that too" she said. Hagoromo paused again, before shaking herself out of it, "oh?" she asked.

The white-haired girl nodded, "hai, my parents say that I got it from my birth parents, but that they never knew them- I try to use my power to help my village and people, but since I became ill I have not been able to help anyone" she replied, eyes downcast. Hagoromo frowned slightly, "I see, I am sorry" she replied. What else could she say? "I have tried to heal myself and others, but ever since I became sick, I have not been able to control my power properly, and people have begun to become afraid of me" she explained. The Otsutsuki looked at the child sadly, "they call me demon child and monster, that is why Kaa-Sama has told me to stay in bed and rest, I haven't passed the illness on to anyone, but people are afraid and do not want me around anymore" she said. Kagura clenched her fists slightly, the only signs of anger she had shown since Hagoromo got there, "even when I am well again, I fear they will be wary of me and fear my power- all I want is to help people, but-" tears began to trail down the seven year olds face, "all I do is make people fear me and I do not want that!" she cried, burying her face in her hands.

Hagoromo immediately felt sorry for the poor child. She wondered if her mother felt that way as well. After healing the last of the damage the Influenza had caused, the teen sent her Chakra into Kagura's immune system, giving it some extra energy and stimulating the production of white blood cells inside the child's body, hopefully allowing her to fight off the last of the virus. Hagoromo sat up, "there, you should be fine now, but keep resting for a few more days to allow your body to recover, oh, and you might keep coughing up blood for a little while, but that is only because it is what is left over from the virus, also make sure you drink plenty of water to help replace the fluid that you lost, understand?" she asked.

Kagura nodded, "thank you very much Hagoromo-San" the child replied gratefully, bowing slightly. The future sage smiled, "it was no problem at all, but I should probably go and meet up with my brother now, I also have to tell your family the good news," she stood up and turned to leave, but paused, "it was very nice to meet you Kagura-Chan, and I hope you are able to reconcile with the villagers, I also hope to see you again sometime, goodbye, and you are welcome" she replied, leaving the room. It was true, she did want to see the girl again, and hoped that she could fix her relationship with her people. She also wanted to keep an eye on her and make sure that Kagura didn't turn out like Kaguya still might. Things were getting interesting, and she still wasn't sure exactly what would happen, but, at least she knew how everything would end.

To Be Continued


	12. Chapter 12

Four years after the Otsutsuki twins healed the Influenza outbreak in the nearby village, the two young adults were preparing to leave the temple and move back in with their mother. They had learned all they could from Komen-Shishou and the other monks. Both were 19 years old and felt ready to return home. As they packed away their merger belongings, they thought of the discussion they had had yesterday with Komen-Shishou. _Flashback: Hagoromo and Hamura searched the temple for Komen Yuko, the head monk of their temple. It had been 9 years since they came here and the two felt ready to go home. Now they just had to ask their master for permission and be tested to see if they had learned enough to become official monks, or rather, Sages._

 _As they reached the door to their Shishou's room, the siblings couldn't help but feel a little sad to be leaving, but at least they were going home. Hagoromo decided to knock when her brother seemed hesitant to do it himself, and she rapped three times on the wooden door. "Come in!" Komen called. Hagoromo opened the door and the two stepped inside. Looking around, they saw that the head monk's room was still as plain as it had been all those years ago when they first saw it. Their Shishou was seated at his desk drinking tea, "ah, Hagoromo, Hamura, is there something you need to speak to me about?" he asked calmly. The elder Otsutsuki took a breath, "Yuko-Shishou, we would like to thank you for your hospitality and guidance, however, we feel it is time for us to return home" she explained._

 _Komen placed his cup down on the desk, "ah, I see, so it is time then?" he replied. The head monk, who was getting to the elderly side of life looked up at his two disciples. Hagoromo sat still and stared at her master with a blank face but sad eyes. Hamura look as stoic as ever, but the slight downward tilt of his mouth showed that he too was sad to be leaving. He had gotten to know the two very well since they had been under his tutelage, and he knew that both of them would miss him and the other monks as well. The red-haired young woman nodded slightly, "hai, it is" she said softly. Komen nodded in understanding, and bowed his head, "thank you for everything, truly it was an honour to have you here, and not just because of who your mother is," he said. Hagoromo looked slightly confused, "what do you mean?" she asked curiously._

 _The man looked up at them, "it was an honour to have you for your humble personalities, your willingness to help everyone and the fact that you made every day that you spent with us exciting and enlightening" he replied. The girl blushed very slightly, though only Hamura noticed it, "you are very welcome and I am glad that you did not find our presence in your temple disruptive Komen Shishou" she replied humbly. Komen smiled softly, "Hagoromo, Hamura, there is one last thing you must do to become a Sage of our temple" he explained. The red-haired teenager became curious, "what is that Shishou?" she asked. "You must create your own unique Shakujo and choose a name for yourselves- after that you will be full-fledged monks of this temple and your training with us will be complete" he replied. End flashback._

So now they were going to create their own Shakujo and choose a name. Hagoromo already knew what hers was going to be. As for Hamura's name, they would just have to wait and see. As they walked into the room, the two looked around. Komen Yuko was there, sitting in the centre of the room, while all the other monks were sitting along the sides of the room in seiza position with their hands on their laps. "Hagoromo, Hamura, come, sit" Komen said. The twins did as instructed and walked to the centre of the room and sat in the same position before their master. Komen then spoke: "the two of you have completed the most simplistic form of your training, now normally, it would take many more years for any of us to become fully-fledged monks or sages, however, due to the complication of your mothers emotional state, we have decided that this is satisfactory, and as such you will be allowed to return home while being given full Sage status in the eyes of the temple" he stated.

The red-haired Otsutsuki bowed, followed by her brother, "we thank you for this Shishou" she replied humbly. Komen smiled, "you are very welcome, and now for your staffs-" Hagoromo held up a hand, "may I try something, Shishou?" she asked. Her master nodded, "you may". Hagoromo sat still and focused. After a few moments of stillness, a floating black ball appeared in the air in front of the young woman. Bringing her hands up, the red-haired woman cupped the malleable ball of Yin-Yang Chakra between her palms. No one said a word as the Otsutsuki breathed deeply. Slowly, the black ball stretched and lengthened into a long staff. One end became a circle with six rings on it, while the other changed into a half-circle. Then the girl focused even more.

Red flame-like Chakra, which was Yang Chakra, erupted in the palm of Hagoromo's left hand, while blue flame-like Chakra or Yin Chakra lit up the air above the palm of her right hand. Sweat was now dripping down the sides of the girls face. No one spoke, feeling the energy in the air- it was so clean, so pure- like life itself. Then, faster than even Hamura's eyes could see, Hagoromo slammed her hands together with the staff made from a truth-seeking ball in between it. There was a flash of royal purple, and everyone present was forced to close their eyes to avoid being blinded. When they opened their eyes again, their stood the red-haired Sage, holding a golden Shakujo in the palm of her hand that looked exactly like the staff that Hagoromo had formed out of a Truth-Seeking Ball. Hagoromo wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at everyone. _'I cannot believe I have almost completed the Banbutsu Sozo! (Creation Of All Things)'_ she thought.

Sennin-Sama was also impressed. He had intended to teach Bethany the Jutsu in a few years time, but for her to have recreated it all on her own- even if it was incomplete, was truly incredible. And to be able to manifest a Truth-Seeking Ball without having to first enter Six Paths Sage Mode showed just how far the young woman had come. At everyone's curious eyes, the girl explained: " I separated my Chakra into its separate halves, Yin and Yang energy's then combined it while channelling it through my Truth-Seeking Ball, thus changing the physical make-up of the Shakujo I made into metal" she explained. No one spoke for a moment, before they shook it off as just another mystery they would never understand, "So now you have created you Shakujo, what name have you chosen?" Komen Yuko asked. Hagoromo lowered her head, grasping her newly created staff in her left hand, "the Sage of the Six Paths" she replied solemnly.

All the other monks nodded, "now it is Hamura's turn" one of them stated.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

After the ceremony, during which Hamura created his Shakujo which was a long staff with a line-like part which was horizontal across the top of it and Hamura chose the name the Sage of Balance, Yuko-Shishou bade them farewell, along with the other monks, and the two Otsutsuki's left the temple for the last time. Neither spoke as they walked, enjoying the peaceful air around them. As they continued on their way, the rings on Hagoromo's Shakujo jangled against each other and created a soft jingling sound. At least the silence, no matter how accepting they had been of it before was now filled with something other than their soft footfalls.

They decided to go a different way than through the village, just for simplicities sake. What Hagoromo found strange was the fact that she was completely fine without any form of technology at all. After all, she had spent 82 years living in a technology abundant world, spending a lot of time writing stories on her computer and watching the TV. And now she hardly thought about any of that. She was completely content with her new life and the lack of any kind of machinery at all. It was freeing in a way. Now she understood why monks liked solitude and nature- it was calming and without distractions. She had found her "happy place" so to speak. In fact she was even thinking of creating an island of sorts with a forest for her mindscape. After all, other than a library for her memories, and her "Chakra ocean", she really had nothing else in their. Okay, so she'd decided. Once they stopped to rest, she would create an island with a forest and a "river" from her Chakra Ocean. There would be a clearing within the forest with a log cabin that contained her library of memories.

Somewhere for Sennin-Sama too of course, after all he had gone too long with having to float above her Chakra ocean, or in her memory library. So it was decided. When they stopped to rest, Hagoromo would meditate for a while and improve her mindscape.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Later, after stopping and eating lunch, the young woman entered her mindscape. Opening her eyes to find herself standing on the surface of her Chakra ocean, Bethany found the Sage watching her. She smiled, "hello, Sennin-Sama, how have you been?" she asked pleasantly. Hagoromo smiled back, "I have been well, I saw that you are going to improve your mindscape" he replied. The young woman nodded, then realised that she looked very different from how she does now. "Hey, why do I look like a younger version of my old body by the way?" she asked. The male Sage looked her over, "I would say that it is because you still think of yourself like that, after all, you did live in that body for 82 years, and that is a lot longer than you have lived in this one" he explained.

Bethany tilted her head to the side in curiosity, "then are you saying that I have not yet accepted my rebirth into this world, despite living this life for 19 years?" she asked. Hagoromo nodded, "hai, although it seems you are beginning to" he replied, pointing to her face. The woman reached up to her face. Everything seemed normal. Her cheeks, mouth, nose, eyes, horns- wait, what? Bethany brought her hands back to her forehead, where she felt the long, hard protrusions; those were defiantly the horns she'd grown up with since her rebirth in this body. Okay, so she was starting to see herself as Hagoromo, or at least starting to merge the two aspects of herself, that of Bethany and Hagoromo together.

It made sense at least. Bethany nodded, then turned to her Chakra ocean, "well, I wanted to add some more detail to my mindscape, so, let's see-" the woman concentrated, and a giant island appeared, not as big as the ocean, but still huge. Waving her hand, the island was suddenly covered in forest, with part of it being a beach. Then, as she concentrated, a clearing of the forest disappeared, leaving a clearing. A large mansion appeared within the clearing with a river running beside it. Turning to Sennin-Sama, Bethany smiled, "so, what do you think?" she asked happily. The old man smiled back, "it is amazing Bethany-Chan, I am impressed how much detail you put into this" he replied. The woman scratched the back of her head, "well, I also kind of felt bad that you didn't have a place to stay- so if you would like to you can stay here now" she said, blushing slightly. The old Sage smiled, "thank you very much, and I would be happy to stay here, but you didn't have t make everything so- grand" he replied, gesturing to everything with his arm.

The now-horned young woman looked around, "well, the mansion is more a place to keep my memory library, but I thought you might like a house too" she explained. Hagoromo nodded his head, "it is alright, I would be happy to live here, now, I think it is time for you to go back to the real world, and do not worry, I will be fine, thank you" he said and began to walk towards his new house. "Oh, yes, Sennin-Sama, there are signs inside that let you know where everything is, like the library, bedroom, or kitchen for a cup of tea" Bethany smiled, "so you don't get lost" she stated. The Sage nodded his thanks and entered the house. The horned woman looked around one last time, nodded in satisfaction, then faded from her mindscape.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

When Hagoromo opened her eyes, it was just in time to see Hamura walk towards her. "Ah, I was about to wake you sister, it is time to go" he explained. The red-haired young woman nodded and stood up from the grass, "let us continue on then Hamura" she replied. Her brother nodded and they picked up their packs and staffs and began walking again- towards home.

To Be Continued


	13. Chapter 13

The Otsutsuki twins had gotten home a few days ago, and were greeted by Kaguya's enthusiastic embrace. Hagoromo pulled back and smiled, "we missed you as well Kaa-Sama, how are you?" she asked happily. Though wary, she was genuinely happy to see her mother- she still seemed the same. "I am very well Hagoromo, Hamura, look at you both, full-fledged monks! I am so proud of you!" she said happily. Hagoromo smiled, "thank you, our Shishou was very proud of us as well" she replied happily. "Well, I think we should get to our new home" Kaguya said. Both siblings blinked, "new home?" Hamura asked curiously. Kaguya nodded, "hai, I moved into a village a few years ago, do not worry about walking, I can take us all their right now" she explained.

The Rabbit Goddess took each of her children's hands in her own and a seeming tear in the fabric of reality appeared before them. Hagoromo was awe-struck, _'she can really open portals to other dimensions and spaces!'_ she thought, _'that is, th-that-'_ the woman couldn't even put into words how awesome and truly terrifying this fact was. Bethany had known about all of Kaguya's powers before, known about the women's ability to open portals, but seeing it first hand was something else entirely. The woman struggled to regain her compose, and just managed to as her mother, still holding their hands, stepped through the tear.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Hagoromo hadn't known what awaited them within the portal, but a black empty space was certainly not it. The moment she found herself in it, the elder of the Otsutsuki twins was struck by a strong sense of vertigo. She couldn't tell what was up, down or any other way. The red-haired young woman shut her eyes, and breathed slowly. As she waited, she suddenly felt something solid beneath her feet and her sense of direction suddenly returned, at least in part. Hagoromo let her feet rest on the platform and relaxed slightly. Once she felt calm enough to open her eyes, she slowly peeled them open once more.

Their mother hadn't yet opened another portal, so she took this time to look around. It was a void. That was the most accurate term the young woman could use to describe the space they were in. There was literally nothing there, just darkness. However, they were standing on _something_ Hagoromo couldn't see, but felt physically beneath her feet. She turned to Kaguya, a million questions burning in her mind.

"Kaa-Sama, where are we?" she asked. Kaguya didn't turn to face her daughter, but she did answer none-the-less, "this is the place between places, or the space between dimensions. I pass through here all the time when I use my powers to travel to other places, do not let go of my hands you two, otherwise you will fall into the void, and even I will not be able to get you back" she explained. Hamura tilted his head to the side curiously. It was strange, but Hagoromo could see him and her mother clearly in this place, even though there was no light and nothing else.

"But then what am I standing on?" he asked. "You are not standing on anything, you only perceive that you are, so do not push down with your weight, or you fill fall" the Rabbit Goddess said. Both siblings decided to trust their mother's words and stayed still as she focussed. Suddenly another tear in reality formed. Kaguya floated through it and they were out. The moment their feet touched solid ground again, both siblings exhaled a silent sigh of relief. Then their mother let go of their hands and the two suddenly realised their stomachs were not happy with them. Both ran dizzily towards separate bushes and collapsed over them. "Yes, I am afraid that that is one of the worse side effects of travelling through the void. The vertigo, this happened to me the first few times I did it as well" Kaguya explained. As Hagoromo threw up what she had eaten that morning with tears streaming down her face, she firmly decided that she was _never_ doing that again. _Ever_.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Once they had finished and rinsed their mouths out with water, Hagoromo and Hamura walked over to their new house. It was a one-level house traditionally styled, made of wood and was raised off the ground. There was a veranda running around the outside of the house, with a wooden fence-type thing on it to keep people from falling off it. The two decided to split up and explore the house more thoroughly. Walking inside, Hagoromo found that while it was simple, there were splashes of colour here and there- a woven rug made from the colours of the sky at sunset, a curtain of royal purple hung to keep the sun out, a tapestry with a picture of all of them, including their father- wait, what?

The red-haired sage hurried back over to the tapestry and stared at the black-haired man. His hair was cut short, with the ends folded up and bound. He had more tan skin that their mother and kind-looking grey eyes. The man was wearing a simple kimono and smiling lovingly at Kaguya and holding her when she was a baby in his arms, while their mother held a sleeping baby Hamura and looked regal and calm. Remembering the Naruto Shippuden anime and what had been done to their father, made the woman narrow her eyes at the tapestry and look away. She walked into the sitting room just as Hamura entered, "sister, have you seen the rest of the house yet, it is amazing" he said, before he saw Hagoromo's face. The white-haired young man frowned slightly, "are you alright sister?" he asked softly.

"I am fine Hamura, just tired, I might go and rest for a while, do you know where the bedrooms are?" she asked. Hamura nodded, "they are lining the hall-" he paused and walked over to his twin slowly, "do you want me to-" he started, but was cut off when his sister shook her head and walked over to the hallway, "no thank you, I would just like some time to myself please" Hagoromo replied softly, smiling slightly and easing her brothers worry, "thank you otouto, but I am fine" she said before disappearing around the corner. The young woman sighed as she walked to the bedrooms. The walls were very bare compared to downstairs, but that was fine, she was used to it after all. As she reached the door to her new bedroom, Hagoromo took a breath. When she opened the door, the woman found that the walls were a calming baby blue, while the bed was a proper bed, with thick sheets.

Running her hands over them, found the bed to be the softest one she'd ever felt and the sheets were warm and comfortable. She wanted to curl up on that bed and sleep for the rest of the day. But before she could, her mother's voice drew her out of her thoughts: "Hagoromo, Hamura, come down here now!" she Kaguya called. The sternness in the voice was what really drove her to action. The red-haired woman shot down the stairs. She stopped before the door, calmed herself and was about to walk out when her brother walked up behind her. The two nodded to each other and walked out onto the veranda to kneel before their mother, "hai Kaa-Sama, what is wrong?" Hagoromo asked.

"This child," Kaguya gestured behind herself with her arm, and Hagoromo saw a _very_ familiar child standing behind her mother, "says that you, Hagoromo, saved her life and healed her and the people of her village of their illness three years ago, would you like to tell me just _how_ you did this?" she asked with a stern edge in her voice, making both her children flinch. For once both Hagoromo and Hamura were thinking the same thing: _'shit'_.

To Be Continued


	14. Chapter 14

Hagoromo stared at the now ten year old child that she had saved from dying from Influenza four years ago. Kagura looked back then smiled, "Hagoromo-Nee-Sama" she said happily. The young woman raised an eyebrow. Since when was she 'Nee-Sama' to anyone but Hamura? As confused as she was, the red-haired Sage knew she wanted answers, and wanted them now, before the situation got out of hand. The younger female Otsutsuki beckoned the girl who looked like Kaguya's younger clone over to her. Kagura walked forwards, "Kagura-Chan, how did you find us?" Hagoromo asked gently. The ten year old pointed at their mother, "I followed her" she replied.

Hagoromo raised an eyebrow, "but, you see, our Kaa-Sama has the ability to travel through dimensions, and that was how she brought us here just now- to follow her, you would have had to travelled through the dimension as well, and only our Kaa-Sama can do that without falling into the void" she explained patiently, recalling what Kaguya had told them before. Kagura blinked, "but I did follow her, I walked across the floor of that place, and I didn't fall in- really" she replied. "How did you heal her, Hagoromo?" their mother's soft voice cut in, but the young woman could hear the demand within that question.

Bethany took a deep breath, it was now or never, "because Hamura and I have inherited power from you, Kaa-Sama" she replied, bowing her head, praying that she didn't become angry. To her surprise, Kaguya simply spoke once again: "I see, I was wondering when you would tell me" Hagoromo's and Hamura's head shot up and their eyes locked onto their mother, "what? You are not angry with us?" the young Sage Of The Six Paths asked in slight shock. The Rabbit Goddess shook her head, "I knew, I knew that you had inherited my Chakra since the moment you were born- I was simply waiting for you to tell me once you awakened it yourselves" she replied, then smiled slightly, "I am grateful that you inherited my Chakra, after all, otherwise you would have both been killed by that demon all those years ago" she said.

Hagoromo was shocked. All this time, she had been afraid of her mother knowing that they had Chakra and now that she knew she wasn't angry at them. In fact she was grateful that they had it and had known from the start. Their mother turned back towards Kagura, "now it seems that you also have Chakra young one, where did you get it from?" she asked curiously. Kagura shook her head, "I was told that I had inherited it from my parents, but I do not know where they got it from" she explained. The Otsutsuki Princess suddenly activated her Byakugan and stared very hard at the child. However to everyone's surprise, Kagura also activated the Byakugan and returned Kaguya's stare with a passively curious one, as the child lightly examined their mother, "I have these powers too, but everyone back in my village was afraid of me because I could not control them properly- however, this one I could control" she explained.

After another moment, Kaguya seemed assured and deactivated her Dojutsu, while her younger human double did the same, "your name is Kagura, correct?" she asked. At the child's nod, the Otsutsuki continued, "why did you follow us here?" Kagura suddenly bowed low, "Kaguya-Sama, I wish to be made a part of your family- no one else in my old village understood me the way you three do, and they were all afraid of me, even my adopted parents, but the three of you could," the girl paused and took a breath, "please take me in so that I may finally know what it is like to belong, to have a family" she begged. There was a moment of silence, where Kaguya though it over. This child was alone and had no one. And she really would belong here, and would be safe, while she herself could teach her new daughter how to control her powers better. She was sure even Hagoromo and Hamura would be willing to help, and her daughter seemed attached to the child already.

She nodded, she'd made up her mind. The Rabbit Goddess looked down at the child who looked so much like she did before she ate the fruit of the Divine Tree. And if she could help this girl, well then, why not? She always had wanted another daughter. Kaguya took a breath, "alright, I will take you in as a part of my family- from now onwards you shall be known as Kagura Otsutsuki" she said. The white-haired girl lit up, "really? Thank you so much- Kaa-Sama" she replied excitedly at first, but more quietly and hesitantly at the end when she addressed Kaguya as her mother. However, the Otsutsuki princess simply smiled softly and nodded. Then she turned towards Hagoromo, "you may show your new younger sister around now Hagoromo" she said, before walking along the veranda to a different part of the house.

Hagoromo bowed her head from where she still knelt, "hai, Kaa-Sama" she replied, waiting until her mother had gone before standing up along with Hamura. Looking at Kagura she smiled, "hello Kagura, it is nice to see you again Imoto-Chan" she said happily. And she was happy. She now had some female company other than her mother to spend time with. As much as she loved her twin, she was glad that they could do some other things now. After all, there are only so many things that a brother and sister can do together. Kagura smiled back, "it is nice to see you again as well Hagoromo-Nee-Sama" she replied. "Excuse me" Hamura's voice cut into the conversation that was starting between them. Both girls looked towards the white-haired man, who was looking at Hagoromo, "would you mind introducing me sister?" he asked.

The red-haired woman smiled sheepishly, "I am sorry Hamura, this is Kagura, as you know she is one of the children of that village that I healed of their illness three years ago, and yes, she does have Chakra, she told me so herself" she explained. Hamura raised an eyebrow, "and why didn't you tell _me_ about this?" he asked. Hagoromo blushed slightly, "I suppose that I forgot with everything that was happening, I apologise brother" she said sincerely. Hamura sighed, "it is fine, just please do not forget again, we are twins, you can always tell me anything" he replied. The red-haired young woman nodded, "do not worry, I will remember" she said. Hagoromo turned back to Kagura, "so, would you like to see inside?" she asked with a smile. The white-haired, white-eyed girl nodded and smiled, "yes please" she replied happily.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

After a tour of their new house, Hagoromo went for a nap. She really felt drained from today, and was worried about how their new little sister would affect the future. She was already worried enough about the fact that she was a girl, and so wouldn't be able to have her children with the same person who the original Sage did before, and now there was a new wrinkle. Hagoromo sighed as she closed her eyes. They would just have to wait and see and hope for the best. When Hagoromo woke up next, it was early evening, and she decided to go for a walk in the new forest. Thinking that her siblings might like to come too, the Sage of the Six Paths left her bedroom to look for Hamura and Kagura.

It was strange to think of herself in the same way as Sennin-Sama, but he had assured her that it was fine. It was who she was after all. She let out her Chakra Sensing ability and had found her brother and sister in less than a minute. She then set off. After walking around the house a little she saw Hamura unpacking his small amount of belongings into his bedroom. Hagoromo smiled. Hamura stiffened for a second then relaxed. When he turned around, he smiled slightly, "hello Hagoromo is there something that you need?" he asked. The young woman shook her head, "no, I do not need anything, though I would like to know if you and Kagura would like to come for a walk and explore the new forest?" she asked him.

Hamura tilted his head to the side, "alright, that sounds good" he replied softly. Suddenly Kagura came around the corner. "Kagura-Chan" Hagoromo said, "Hamura and I are going to go and explore the new forest, would you like to come with us? And do not worry about any demons, we can and will protect you" she said gently. The white-haired girl was silent for a moment, thinking, before she nodded, "alright, that sounds nice, I would like to go with you if that is alright Nee-Sama" she replied. "It is fine, let us go tell Kaa-Sama what we are doing then put our sandals on" Hagoromo said, smiling at her two younger siblings.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The three walked up to their mother, who was standing and staring at the Divine Tree. The eldest of the Otsutsuki siblings had a thought then, a thought that would never be heard by living peoples ears, _'I wonder if she feels guilty for what she did to everyone and Tou-Sama'_. Hagoromo spoke then, "Kaa-Sama," she paused, then continued, "the three of us are going to explore the forest, we should be back in a few hours" she explained. Kaguya turned to look at them, "alright" she replied, before turning and walking back inside the house. Before she was completely gone, Hagoromo called out: "thank you Kaa-Sama!" there was no response, but the young woman was sure that her mother had heard.

She smiled at her brother and sister, who returned it. Then they walked into the forest.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Kagura was looking around enthusiastically, examining the trees, taking everything in with wide eyes. Hagoromo and Hamura breathed in deeply, enjoying the tranquillity for the first time in 10 years. It was good to be able to do this whenever they wanted again. As the three Otsutsuki came to a break in the trees, to see several fields of Rice Patty's. For Hagoromo, this was very nostalgic. Multiple people were working in the fields, pulling weeds and harvesting rice. Suddenly one young woman tripped and fell down the side of the hill she had been walking on, spilling the rice she had collected, and sending the young woman falling towards the water.

The female Sage of the Six Paths leapt forwards, slid down the side of the hill and grabbed the girl before she could fall into the water. Hagoromo moved the girl so that she was facing up, "are you alright miss?" she asked. Sennin-Sama was shocked. The woman had long black hair and black eyes. Then she opened her eyes. _'Haori!'_ he said. That was defiantly his wife. Just the sight of her almost brought tears to his eyes. It had been so long since he had last seen her. Haori smiled, "yes, thank you-" she paused. Then Hagoromo realised that he hadn't introduced herself yet.

"Oh, forgive me, my name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki" the red-haired woman said. Haori smiled, "my name is Haori Kenta" she said. The Otsutsuki bowed her head, "it is a pleasure to meet you, Haori-San" she replied. Suddenly they heard a male voice, "Haori!" both young women turned to the sound to see a lean young man with short black hair and silver eyes running up to them. Haori smiled, "Nii-San" she said happily. The young man came down the slope towards them, "are you alright?" he asked.

The younger woman nodded, "hai, I am fine, thanks to Otsutsuki-San here" she replied, while her older brother helped his sister to her feet. Hagoromo stood up as well. The boy turned to her, "thank you- wait, Otsutsuki? As in the Rabbit Goddess?" he asked, shocked. Hagoromo smiled slightly, "ah, yes, she is my mother, and you are?" she asked. The young man shook his head, "forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, my name is Tsukuyomi Kenta, thank you for helping my Imouto Otsutsuki-Sama" he said, bowing. Hagoromo shook her head, "oh no, it was fine, you are both very welcome, and just Hagoromo is fine please" she replied, smiling, though a very light blush coloured her cheeks.

To Be Continued


	15. Chapter 15

It had been a few months since the two siblings had come home and gotten their new addition. Kaguya was standing on her veranda staring at the sky. Hagoromo, and Hamura stood together watching her, "Kaa-Sama spends a lot of time looking at the sky" Hamura stated. "Yes she does, I wonder what she is looking at" Hagoromo said. Nearby a small red toad watched from a rock in the middle of a stream that ran below their house.

Kagura ran up to them, "Hagoromo Nee-Sama! Hamura Nii-Sama!" she called. The two turned to look at their younger sister, "Kagura-Chan, what is it?" Hagoromo asked with a smile. The ten year old smiled "do you like my new kimono?" she asked. The twins looked her over. Kagura was wearing a long white kimono-like robe with a purple stripe going around the bottom of the kimono and the ends of the sleeves.

Above that were two thin yellow stripes and above that were multiple black tomoe running around the sleeves of the kimono. There were also black tomoe going down the centre front of it. Hagoromo smiled slightly, "it looks beautiful and so do you Kagura-Chan, do you not agree Hamura?" she asked her brother. The white-haired young man nodded, "hai, you do" he replied. Kagura beamed, "Kaa-Sama made it for me" she said. Suddenly a young woman with long black haired and black eyes ran up, "Hagoromo! Hamura!" she called. The three standing on the veranda turned to look at her. "Haori, what is the matter?" Hagoromo asked. Since they had met, the two young women had fast become best friends.

Of course, the relationship between the eldest of the Otsutsuki siblings and Tsukuyomi, Haori's older brother was something else altogether. "Please come with me" Haori begged.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

At the rice fields, two men were fighting. A larger one had a smaller man by the shirt and had lifted him into the air, "if you use all the water at your place, their will not be any downstream for the rice patties!" he exclaimed. "My field is upstream, there is nothing I can do about it!" the smaller man replied, "wait, what is going on?" Hagoromo asked as she and her brother and sister walked up, placing one hand on the larger mans shoulder. The smaller man sat on the ground, "what is going on is that this guy is using all the water!" the larger man said, pointing at the one on the ground.

"I have told you already, my paddy is upstream, so I cannot help it!" the smaller man replied. Hamura looked at both men, "but until now was their not enough water for everyone?" he asked. The smaller man looked at the three siblings, "well recently the flow of the river has gotten weak" he replied. The man led the three siblings as well as Haori towards the place where the water was weaker. When they got there, Hagoromo looked at the weak stream flowing down from the mountain.

"Did something happen upstream?" she asked. "I would go check, but there is a huge bear roaming around this mountain," the large man from before said, "you have to be really careful, just recently, an old lady went foraging for edible wild plants and got hurt very badly" he explained. Hagoromo turned to look at the man, "alright, we will go check" she said. "Really?" the man asked, "that would be great!" he exclaimed gratefully. "I want to come as well" Kagura said. Hamura turned to the ten year old, "but it will be dangerous, and you have not fully mastered your powers Kagura" he said, frowning slightly, worried about his younger sister. The child frowned, "I can protect myself Nii-Sama, I am not powerless!" she replied indignantly. Hagoromo sighed, "alright you can come, but if anything happens and you are not able to protect yourself, I promise that I will not allow anything to happen to you" she said firmly.

Kagura smiled, "thank you Nee-Sama" she replied. "Be careful Hagoromo" Haori said. The Sage turned to look at her best friend, "we will be fine," she said, "let us go, Hamura, Kagura". "Right" the white-haired boy said, "alright" Kagura said, both following after their older sister.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The two girls and one boy walked through the forest, climbing up to the top of a bolder. Hagoromo turned to her two younger siblings, "do either of you see anything?" she asked. "Hold on a moment," Hamura replied, activating his Byakugan and looking around. With his enhanced eyesight, the only boy in the trio was able to see further ahead than normal. "There is a huge bolder upstream" he replied. Climbing up the cliff where a waterfall should be, but was now only a trickle, with Hamura carrying their little sister on his back, so that she didn't fall, the group of three came up to where the boulder was placed and blocking the water.

Well, it was more like a giant rock. "I see…" Hagoromo said, as they stared up at it, "so this is what is blocking the flow of the river" she said contemplatively, while Kagura awed at the sheer size of the bolder, and Hamura began walking towards it. "But where did this boulder come from?" the young man asked, "it was not there the last time we were up here" he stated. "Either it fell from somewhere, or someone put it there" the red-haired sage replied. "What do you mean by 'someone'?," Hamura asked, with a slight smile, while Kagura looked between her two older siblings. "No one can move a boulder this big aside from Kaa-Sama, you, or possibly Kagura-Chan when she has gained control over her power properly" he stated.

"I put it their" an unknown voice said. The three Otsutsuki turned and looked around. However there was no one around. "C-could it be a ghost?"Kagura asked, clutching tighter to Hamura's clothes. Hagoromo smiled at her Imouto, "now, now, things like that do not exist" she explained to her slightly frightened younger sister. "I'm no ghost, and don't ignore me like I'm some kind of bug!" the voice replied. Hagoromo turned around and saw a small red toad sitting their talking to them, "'cuz I'm not a bug… I'm a toad" he, as it was obviously a he said. Kagura activated her Byakugan and looked around, "there is no one else here-" she said. Then Hamura activated his Byakugan, "it is not some kind of ventriloquism technique-" he added.

"Hey, am I going crazy?" Hamura asked. "I do not think so brother" Hagoromo replied. Kagura's eyes lit up, "talking toad!" she squealed. She turned to her older siblings, "can I keep it?" she asked excitedly. Hagoromo stifled a laugh. Her younger sister wanted to keep Gamamaru, the great Toad Elder as a pet. The toad became angry, "I am no one's pet!" he exclaimed indignantly, "anyway, no you are not going crazy, I really am talking to you" the toad said. Suddenly a rustling from behind them caught their attention, "oh, it seems we have a guest" Gamamaru said. The three humans turned around to see the bear they were warned about come out of the forest behind them, growling and standing up on it's hind legs.

Kagura screamed and clung to Hagoromo, who got in front of her younger sister. She had sworn not to let anything harm her little sister, and she intended to keep it. "Perfect timing, I'll show you just how strong I am" Gamamaru said, before shooting out a massive and highly pressurised stream of water from his mouth. The bear was flung back into a large boulder, which was smashed into rubble. Once the bear had gotten up, it ran away from their as fast as it could, dashing back through the bushes. The Otsutsuki siblings turned back to Gamamaru, "I placed this boulder here so that I could meet you two, though I didn't expect your little sis' to come along" he explained.

"My name is Gamamaru, and you two are Hagoromo and Hamura, right? And your sis is Kagura?" he introduced himself then asked. Hamura turned to his twin, "a toad just addressed us by our fist names" he said, still slightly in shock, though he would never say it out loud. "Come with me you three" Gamamaru said, turning to jump away. The three Otsutsuki began to follow, but Hagoromo stopped, "ah, I almost forgot" she said, turning back to the boulder. The elder of the three siblings focused her Chakra to her hand, changed its Nature to lightning and shot a huge bolt of lightning at the boulder that was blocking the river, destroying it.

"Oh, not bad" the small red toad said, then hopped off.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Hagoromo, Hamura and Kagura followed Gamamaru to the top of a hill where he jumped on top of a small rock. The tree stopped behind it, "why did you bring us here?" Hagoromo asked, though she already knew the answer. The future Great Toad Elder pointed at the Divine tree and the mountains surrounding it, "do you know what that is?" he asked. Kagura looked confused, wondering why that had been brought into the conversation. "Of course" Hagoromo said, "that is the peak of demise," Hamura replied. Gamamaru turned to look at them, "have you ever seen what's beyond that?" he asked.

"No, never," Hagoromo said, though she did _know_ what was beyond it, "Kaa-Sama has warned us not to go near that peak. Everyone must follow that law". Kagura was staring at the tree in the distance, she did wonder why Kaa-Sama was so adamant that they don't go near it, after all it was just a tree and rock formations. Meanwhile, Hagoromo was continuing her reply, though this time she was being instructed by Sennin-Sama, "no one has ever seen what is on the other side" she finished. Gamamaru turned back to look at the tree "the truth behind the Divine Tree is beyond that peak." "The truth behind the Divine Tree?" Kagura asked. "The Divine Tree has been absorbing the power of this land. As long as that tree exists, the land will continue to weaken" Gamamaru explained.

"Is that true? But I've heard that it is because of the power of the Divine Tree that this land has thrived" Hamura said, confused. "You're wrong," Gamamaru said, and turned to face them, "if you want to know the truth, go see what's on the other side of that peak." "Later" then he jumped off and into a small pond nearby. All three siblings stared after him, "the truth?" Hamura asked "what does that mean?" Kagura asked. Hamura shook her head, "I do not know" he replied, as they all stared at the Divine Tree in the distance.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

As the three Otsutsuki returned home, they noticed a slight commotion in front of the building. A man with a bamboo basket on his back was talking to one of their elderly gardeners, "is Kaguya-Sama really not here?" he asked, "how many times must I tell you, she is not here" the woman replied. When the woman turned to see them, she bowed, "welcome home Mistresses Hagoromo, Kagura, Master Hamura" she said. Hagoromo nodded her thanks, "what is the matter?" she asked, "this man is very persistent" the elderly woman replied. Hamura stepped up, "who are you?" he asked.

"I am a travelling Medicine Peddler. I wanted to do some business here, and came to get Kaguya-Sama's permission." He explained. "Where is Kaa-Sama?" Hagoromo asked the gardener. "She said that she would be away tonight" she replied. "I see, so she has gone out again" Hagoromo said, in truth relieved about it. She could relax tonight. The 'Medicine Peddler' rubbed the back of his head, "what do I do now?" he asked himself. Hamura activated his Byakugan and stared at the man. He then walked forwards, "well now, what do we have here?" he asked, going behind the man and opening his pack, "let me take a look at your medicines". The white-haired, white-eyed man began taking out packets and throwing them onto the ground.

"Ahhh!" the man cried, "what are you doing to my products?" he asked. "These are just weeds and mouldy nuts," Hamura stated, holding up a mushroom, "this one is a poisonous mushroom, if you take these, you will get even sicker." Kagura stared in awe at her older brother, who so easily exposed this man. The white-haired man turned to look at the other man, "you are a fraud" he said, leaning down behind him, making the man nervous, "thins village has my Kaa-Sama, Nee-Sama and me. We can cure any illness anywhere at any time- we have even cured the blood drowning sickness," he said, "no one will buy stuff like this". The man turned to look at Hamura, "your power, is it from the Divine Tree?" he asked. "Just get out of here… or you will be sorry" Hamura said.

The man ran quickly away from the village.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The Medicine Peddler walked along the dirt path with his arms crossed, "damn it! how dare they belittle me!" he spoke to himself. The man groaned and stopped, rubbing his back, "they made me so mad that my back pain is flaring up again". He then turned to look at where the Divine tree stood in the centre of the land. "The Divine Tree, huh?" he said. The man adopted a thinking pose with a sly grin adorning his face, "if I take even just a small branch, I could sell it for a fortune…" he thought to himself out loud. "Yes, while the devil is away!" he said triumphantly.

"Just forget about it," Hagoromo said from behind him, catching the man's attention, "do not be foolish enough to go near the Divine Tree, you will die". The man turned around, "you are-!" he started, then bent over and placed his hand on his back again. "I wanted to apologise for earlier, my younger brother is very passionate about fairness, and that makes him a little hot-tempered at times" she explained, as she walked forwards. "What do you want?!" the Medicine Peddler asked defensively. His back cracked again, and he groaned, "oww". "Well, I do not leave people in pain, it goes against my chosen way of life," Hagoromo said, "I am a Sage you see, my brother and I studied at a temple," she explained, as her hand glowed green and she placed it on his back, "I have learned to heal people, and I do whenever I can, even if the person is not such an upstanding one" she told him.

When Hagoromo pulled her hand away the man scoffed, "huh, like doing that will help anything, if it were that simple, no one would go through-" he paused and stood up straight, "huh? The pain is gone?" he asked in wonder. "Hey! You really did fix my back!" he said excitedly, jumping up and down. When he'd calmed down, he turned back to the Otsutsuki, "alright, now, leave and do not come back, it is for your own good" Hagoromo stated. The man nodded, "yes ma'am" then he turned and left quickly. Hagoromo turned back to look at the Divine Tree again. She clenched her fists.

To Be Continued


	16. Chapter 16

Hagoromo was standing on a hill, overlooking the rice fields and the people who were working on them, Tsukuyomi included. She smiled slightly. Sensing Hamura's Chakra signature coming up behind her, the young woman just stayed relaxed, "everything is going well" he reported. The woman didn't respond. "Nee-Sama?" he asked. The red-haired Otsutsuki was snapped out of her thoughts, "hmm? Oh good, no news is good news" she replied, turning to look at him with a small smile. Hamura walked up to her, "Nee-Sama, are you still thinking about what that toad said?" he asked. Hagoromo shook her head, "no, it is not about that, but-" she opened her eyes and paused.

Several people dressed in white were walking down the dirt road in single file. They are part of the ritual of the Divine Tree" Hamura said. Suddenly one young woman caught the two sibling's attention, "no way" Hagoromo said. Both ran down to the woman, "Haori!" the red-haired woman called. Her best friend in this life turned around, "Hagoromo, Hamura" she said on seeing them. The two ran up, "what is going on?" Hagoromo asked, _'no'_. Haori turned to face them fully, "I have received notice to serve the Divine Tree" she replied. _'No'_ the red-head thought again.

The black-haired young woman looked down and tightened her fist around her necklace, "I have no choice, this is a practice that Kaguya-Sama established decades ago…" she paused and looked up, "Hagoromo, Hamura, it was only for a short time, but I am glad that I got to meet you two, and I am grateful for your friendship Hagoromo, thank you," Haori walked towards the red-head, and took off her necklace, placing it around Hagoromo's neck, "thank you for being my friend, please remember me", then the woman turned and walked away, "Haori" the eldest of the Otsutsuki siblings watched the woman walk away. She clenched her fists, _'my best friend is gone!'_ she thought bitterly.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The three siblings knelt on the ground before their mother, who was standing on the balcony, "welcome home Kaa-Sama," Hagoromo said, kneeling down before the woman. She bit her lip. The woman knew it didn't work the first time, but she had to try to get Haori back, for herself, and for her friend. Hagoromo took a breath, "please end the Ritual of the Divine Tree" she asked. Kaguya did not turn or look at them, "that is not possible," she replied. "But-" the red-haired woman lifted her head, trying to be delicate. After all, this woman still terrified her more than anyone else.

"I will not tolerate any defiance, even if you are my children" Kaguya said. Hamura looked up as well, then the two looked at each other. Kagura looked between her siblings and mother. "Then please tell me, what happens to those who go to the Divine Tree as a part of this ritual, why does no one ever return?" Hagoromo asked. "This ritual is necessary until the others arrive" the Rabbit Goddess replied. Hagoromo's thoughts Immediately went to the two Otsutsuki Clan members from the Boruto movie. "The others?" Hamura asked curiously. "You do not need to know about them yet" Kaguya replied.

"Hagoromo, Hamura, Kagura, I am leaving once more, take care of things in my absence" she said, turning and walking away, "hai" Hagoromo replied while all three bowed. The young woman was angry. Her best friend was most likely dead and her mother didn't care. She didn't care about any of them. Tried to care about humans? All Kaguya was doing was turning some of them into damn puppets and killing others!

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Hagoromo stood at a corner of the house on the balcony, arms crossed and glaring at the Divine Tree like it was the source of all their problems. Oh wait, it was. Hamura and Kagura came up, "Nee-Sama, you are not thinking of-" Hamura asked, pausing, "yes, I intend to climb that peak" Hagoromo replied seriously. "If Kaa-Sama founds out, you will get into a great deal of trouble" the white-haired man said. The young woman closed her eyes, "I am prepared for the consequences." She replied. Hamura walked closer towards her, "alright Nee-Sama, I am coming with you" he said. Hagoromo smiled gratefully, "thank you Hamura" she replied. Kagura perked up, "I am coming too!" The red-haired woman shook her head, "no Kagura, not this time, you stay here- that way if Kaa-Sama comes home and finds out, you can say that you had no part in this" she said, levelling a serious look on her little sister, "do you understand Imouto?" she asked.

Kagura nodded, "hai, I understand Nee-Sama" she replied. Hagoromo nodded and kissed her younger sister's forehead, "thank you Kagura-Chan" she said with a small smile.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Hagoromo and Hamura walked up the steep mountain-like rocks that surrounded the area around the Divine Tree. The eldest Otsutsuki sibling had to keep reminding herself to stay calm and that she already knew what she was going to find there. As they reached the top, the two were awestruck by the sheer size of the tree. The red-haired woman focused her breathing as she stood there, trying to keep calm. However, there were no people anywhere in sight. Hamura activated his Byakugan, "sister!" he exclaimed, running down towards the roots of the Divine Tree. "Hamura!" the young woman cried, following behind quickly.

' _You know what is down their'_ she kept telling herself, _'stay calm'._ The white-haired man jumped down into a crevice where the roots broke through the earth. Inside there were at least dozens of human-shaped cocoons in this spot alone. Hagoromo felt her breath hitch as she followed her twin down into the earth, and struggled to compose herself as Hamura took his tanto and cut through one of the cocoons. He turned to her, "can you handle this cocoon?" he asked. Taking a deep breath, the Sage of the Six Paths held out her hand and saturated to air with her Chakra, sending sharp blades of wind and slicing the cocoon open. What she saw shattered her heart into pieces.

' _It is true'_ she thought, _'there is truly no way to deny it now'_. Haori Kenta lay on the ground, no heartbeat, no breathing. She was dead. It was true. As she stared at the dead form of her best friend, Hagoromo felt her body overflow with pain, that pain soon transforming into anger, rage, _fury_. Her entire body felt hot, as though it were burning. She fell to her knees and clutched Haori to her, _'my best friend, is dead!'_ she thought. The heat flowed through her body like fire, travelling up, up, into her eyes. Hagoromo clenched her eyes shut as the pain engulfed them and her heart. The heat in her eyes intensified until it was unbearable. Were-as when she used her Rinnegan her eyes were engulfed in a soothing coolness, right now her eyes felt like they were burning in liquid magma.

The woman finally screamed so loudly that she was sure all of creation could hear her. Suddenly Hagoromo's eyes snapped open. "Nee-Sama, your eyes!" Hamura exclaimed. However, the woman didn't need her brother to tell her that her eyes were now different than what they had ever been. A three Tomoe Sharingan shined bright red in her eyes, with something akin to murder glowing within them. Breathing harshly, the Sage of the Six Paths lay the lifeless form of her only friend in this world down gently and focused. Her Sharingan's tomoe spun so rapidly they looked like a solid ring of black. Then several more rings stretched out in her eyes and the first ring solidified. The red iris as well as the whites of Hagoromo's eyes turned into purple and her Sharingan was suddenly the Rinnegan. Forming two hand signs, the woman called out the name of her technique. A technique that she had only used twice before, "Gedo art of Rinne Rebirth!" Haori's body glowed green for a moment then the glow faded.

There was silence for a moment, before the form on the ground twitched. Both siblings held their breath as Haori opened her mouth and took a deep breath of air. Her eyes then opened slowly, looking around blearily, "w-what? Where, am I?" she asked herself. Once her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, the woman turned her head to see Hagoromo and Hamura kneeling beside her. "Hagoromo, Hamura, where, are we, what happened?" she asked, confused. Hagoromo sighed, "I will explain later, right now, you must come with me, are you able to walk?" she asked quickly, now looking around, expecting Kaguya to come storming down here at any moment.

The other woman tentatively pushed herself up to her feet, "y-yes, I think so" Haori replied. The red-haired woman nodded and grabbed Haori's hand, "we must hurry, Hamura, quickly!" she said hurriedly. All three of them ran away from the Divine Tree as fast as they could. Due to their training, Hagoromo and Hamura could run far faster than any normal person, and Haori was finding it hard to keep her legs under her. "Ha- Hagoromo, Hamura, where are we going?!" she asked, having to shout over the rushing of the wind, "away from here!" Hagoromo replied. After a few hours of running, the three of them saw a building in the distance. They had just crossed kilometres of distance in hours. As they slowed to a stop a few miles from the shape, Haori saw that it was a temple.

They finally stopped just outside the temple gates. The guards jumped, but calmed down when they saw who it was, "Hagoromo, Hamura, why have you returned?" the monk asked. "There is no time, you must keep Haori safe" Hagoromo said, and the look in her eyes assured the men that they didn't want to know. Turning to the other woman, the red-haired woman bowed her head, "I will not risk your life a second time, stay here, tell the head monk, Komen Shishou that we have asked that you stay here, and they will keep you safe" she explained. Turning, the two siblings began to walk away. "Hagoromo, Hamura, wait!" Haori called. Both stopped and turned around. "Stay safe, and come back for me" the black-haired woman said. Hagoromo nodded, "hai, we will" she replied. Then they vanished.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The two siblings walked through the forest until they got to a pond, "Gamamaru!" The red-haired Sage called, "come out". The small red toad jumped out of the water onto a stone and looked at the twins. Seeing Hagoromo's Sharingan, he spoke, "it seems like you went beyond that peak" he stated. Both Otsutsuki nodded. Gamamaru turned, "come with me" he said, then jumped into the water. Hagoromo and Hamura followed him. When they broke the surface of the water again, they found that they had entered an entirely different place.

"Where are we?" Hamura asked. Looking around they saw unfamiliar mountains and giant leaves, as well as strange waterfalls. "This is the land of the toads" Gamamaru explained.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

As the two were led around by the small toad, Hagoromo looked around, _'so this is the land of the toads'_ she thought, _'it is strange to see it in person'_. _'I can feel the Nature Chakra flowing through the ground, the plants, even the air'_ she thought, awed by the amount of Natural Energy that existed here, and what that meant for the inhabitants. "This power, what is it?" she asked. Gamamaru turned to look at her, "oh, I'm impressed that a human can feel the power here" he stated, "the power known as Nature Chakra, flows freely here" he explained, turning to look forwards again. He hopped over to one of the stone frog statues, "and so, if you use this power-" he paused, lifting the statue, which was several times his size into the air with one hand, "even I can do something like this".

"Wow" Hamura breathed, even he was amazed. Gamamaru placed the statue back on the ground, "follow me" he said, hopping off again. The twins followed their small guide into a large building, then room. Lined along the edges of the room were multiple pillars, supposedly to keep the roof up decorated with many different kanji. In the centre of the room was a set of stairs. At the top of these was a giant chair and a crystal ball a little smaller in size than the chair. The future Toad Elder hopped to the top of the stairs and turned to them, "this is known as the Memory Stone." he explained. "Memory Stone?" Hamura asked. "Everything that occurs above ground is recorded in this stone… look at what happened in the past" Gamamaru replied.

On looking into the crystal, both siblings watched as a ball of fire fell from the sky and crashed to earth, "long ago, that tree fell from the sky. And, as if in pursuit, your mother Kaguya appeared here" now the ball showed a forest with a light shining through the trees, which then changed to show their mother as she was before she ate the fruit of the Divine Tree. Hagoromo's eyes widened, she had known it all along, but Kagura really did look like their mother from back then. The next scene was of Kaguya staring at the night sky and someone placing a robe around her shoulders. "And when your mother arrived, she fell in love with the emperor of this land, and she became pregnant with you" as Gamamaru had been talking, the picture travelled back and showed the face of a man that until now, the two siblings had only ever seen in a picture. Their father.

"However," an arrow fell from the sky towards their mother and another woman, "Kaguya's destiny with humans was to be trifled by them, and in the end, she became their enemy." Kaguya turned away from the arrows, appearing as though trying to protect their unborn selves. Gigantic roots emerged from the ground and towards the nearby humans, "Kaguya acquired the power of the Divine Tree, and your father, along with his people, were sacrificed to it" the Memory Stone showed people being bound within tethers from the Divine Tree and lifted into the air, "but, to make sure mankind didn't perish, she revived some of the humans, erased their memories and put them back." He paused, "only Kaguya knows the truth." "One thing _is_ clear, since the Divine Tree took root, the Nature Energy of this land is being depleted- not just from the land, but from humans too. As long as the Divine Tree exists… this great land will wither, and we will suffer the same fate" Gamamaru said, and looked down sadly.

To Be Continued


	17. Chapter 17

Hagoromo and Hamura were standing in the room of the Memory stone in Mount Myoboku. Gamamaru had just finished explaining about their mothers past and what would happen to the land if the Divine Tree continued to take root there. Hagoromo looked up, breathed in deeply, then exhaled, "we must speak to Kaa-Sama" she said seriously. Hamura looked at her, "will she even listen to us?" he asked. Gamamaru looked at them and crossed his arms, "Hagoromo, your mother's power is immense, I doubt that you can confront her directly," he stated, "even if you are her daughter". The young woman frowned, "Gamamaru, will you teach me to use Nature Chakra?" she asked seriously.

Hamura's eyes widened, "Nee-Sama, you are not planning to fight Kaa-Sama, are you?!" he asked, worried. He knew how powerful his elder sister was, but their mother was revered as a goddess for a reason. The young woman turned to her younger twin brother, "it is just in case," she explained patiently. Truthfully, she would prefer not to fight Kaguya if she didn't have too, but with the way things were going it seemed inevitable. "I see-" Gamamaru said, as the two turned back to face him, "if you, who inherited Kaguya's power were to acquire the ability to use Nature Chakra, you could defiantly take her on." he said with a smile, "however-" the toad paused, "what is it?" Hagoromo asked. "Teaching you to use Nature Chakra is very risky." He replied. The red-haired young woman narrowed her eyes, "why is that?" she asked.

The future Elder Toad Sage looked down, "is there any guarantee that, after acquiring this ability, that you won't become the same as your mother?" he asked. Hagoromo bent down right in front of the toad's face, who leant back nervously, "Gamamaru… after coming this far, have you become scared?" she asked. Gamamaru's eyes widened, "what did you say?"he asked defensively. The woman lent back, "you are contradicting yourself, why did you lie in wait for us then? You planned to pit us against Kaa-Sama and make us fight her right from the start" she said, while said toad began sweating. "Ah, you're pretty shrewd for a human, aren't you?" he asked, "yes, I had a vision," he explained. "Vision?" Hamura asked. "Yes, a dream- toads rarely, if ever dream. But this dream was more like a prophecy… I dreamed of you battling Kaguya." Hagoromo and Hamura looked at each other, then back at the toad.

"How did it end?" the white-haired man asked. "I do not think his dream went that far- if it did, he would not be so nervous" Hagoromo replied. Gamamaru flinched back and gasped, "how can you see so far into a toads heart so clearly?" he asked, before deflating, "just who are you?" The red-haired Sage closed her eyes, "I do not need to see into your heart, your nervous mannerisms gave it away" she explained, opening her eyes again.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The red-haired Otsutsuki woman sat before the Toad Oil waterfall in the Sage position. She breathed slowly and deeply. "Clear your mind," Gamamaru instructed from his place before her, "just feel the Nature Energy and take it into yourself" he explained. For Hagoromo, this was very easy. She had been meditating since she was three, and this was essentially the same thing. A short time later, she was sitting on a square platform, completely still and balancing on top of a rock spire. Nature Chakra flowed into her body at a steady pace. Gamamaru smiled, _'she's a surprise,'_ he thought, pleased, _'Hagoromo's acquired Sage Mode in no time at all'_.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Meanwhile, Hamura was back at their home, patrolling the village. As he stood on the hill, he watched the villagers work in the fields. Suddenly he sensed his mother's presence behind him and he turned around. "Kaa-Sama! You are back so soon-" he said, but on the inside he was worried. They had not expected their mother to return for at least another few days. "Where are Hagoromo and Kagura?" Kaguya asked. Hamura knelt on the ground before his mother, "Nee-Sama is still out patrolling the village, and Kagura is with some of the friends that she has made here" he replied, keeping a straight face. "Hamura," Kaguya said, causing the white-haired man to flinch, "hiding things from me is useless" she stated.

Kaguya activated her Byakugan and flared her Chakra, which sent shockwaves throughout the air and disturbed the grass and their robes and hair. Hamura shielded his face with his arm and activated his own Byakugan. However a moment later, he groaned in pain and gripped his eyes- the enormity of her Chakra was far greater that what his eyes could take, and just looking at it gave him a migraine like no other. "It is useless- even if you try to repel me with your Byakugan. My Byakugan is far superior to yours" Kaguya stated. Hamura shuddered and trembled as her power washed over him, before he fell to the ground, still clenching his eyes shut tightly in pain.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

It had been a few days since then. Hagoromo stood in Mount Myoboku. She took a deep breath and felt Nature Chakra rush into her body, melding with her own Chakra with ease. Orange rings appeared around her eyes and suddenly she let out a huge torrent of lightning with willpower alone. The lightning shot towards one of the flower bud shaped stone carvings, shattering it completely into pieces. "I think," she began, "that I have mastered Nature Chakra". Gamamaru, who was watching, turned to look at the woman, "well, you just might be able to take Kaguya on." He said.

Suddenly, he turned to look at a small bridge that crossed a river nearby. A small toad, one that the woman recognised as one of the ones that she used to send and receive messages to and from her younger siblings hopped towards them, "a messenger toad?" Gamamaru asked. Once it had stopped, it spoke quickly, and in a language that the red-haired young woman couldn't understand. When it had finished, Gamamaru looked shocked and worried, "what?!" he asked. Hagoromo looked at him, "what is it?" she asked, a bad feeling clenching in her stomach. Sennin-Sama's silence over the last few days wasn't helping either. The small red toad turned to her, "Kaguya has returned, and they're not able to contact Hamura anymore" he explained.

The woman's eyes widened in horror, "then-?" she asked, while Gamamaru nodded, "it's safe to assume that she has seen through our plans" he replied. Hagoromo narrowed her eyes, "what about Kagura, Haori and Tsukuyomi?" she asked. The future Toad Elder shook his head, "the last time we checked, Kagura and Haori were still safe at that temple you trained at, as for Tsukuyomi, Haori's brother is still in the village" he replied. Hagoromo exhaled a silent sigh of relief, at least they were all alright, but, her brother- she clenched her fists, "then it seems that the time has come to confront Kaguya" she said seriously.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

 _(Back at the village)_

Hagoromo and Gamamaru watched as all the villagers left the area, taking their animals and belongings with them. The woman turned to see the old woman who was their gardener along with her grandson, who she had met one time when he came to help his Grandmother bow to her in both thanks and farewell. Then they turned and left with the others. "Forgive me everyone" Hagoromo said, knowing that pretty soon all their homes would probably be destroyed, along with everything they weren't able to carry with them.

"But this is the only way to save this land" Gamamaru said, turning to look at Hagoromo's house, knowing that that too, would probably be gone soon.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

Later, once she was sure that everyone was safely away from the area, Hagoromo and Gamamaru went to her house to confront Kaguya. "This is far enough," she told her teacher in the Sage arts, "any closer and it would be dangerous". Gamamaru nodded an acceptance, then turned to her, "if you and Kaguya fight, I can't begin to imagine the scope of the battle," he said, before reaching into his mouth and pulling out a large tag that was about the same size as his body. He then held it out to her, "this is for the both of you" he said, as Hagoromo bent down and took the tag from him.

"What is this tag?" she asked curiously. As she looked at it, the tag seemed to glow with Chakra to her Sharingan. Yes, she was using the Pin Wheel Eye instead of her Rinnegan, She had a feeling that she would need the enhanced perception that the Sharingan gave her for this battle, at least in the beginning. The Kanji on the tag said "Sage". "Do you feel its enormous power?" Gamamaru asked. "It's a treasure that has been passed down in the Land of the Toads, it is forbidden to take it outside of our land, but our lives are also on the line," he explained.

"There is Nature Chakra infused in that tag. Our ancestors sacrificed their lives to make it, use it when you don't have time to replenish your Nature Chakra," he said. "It can only be used one, but it can revive you, even if you're on the verge of death" the toad explained. Hagoromo placed the tag securely inside her Kimono, "I am forever grateful to you for everything that you have done for us" she said sincerely. Gamamaru turned to find a safe place to watch, "I will pray for you and your brother's success" he said, before hopping away. Turning back to her house, the woman determinedly climbed the steps, focusing her mind as she did so.

As she reached the top, she found Kaguya waiting for her. _"Be careful,"_ a familiar voice in her head said. _'Sennin-Sama?'_ she asked, not having expected the spirit of the male Sage to speak to her so suddenly. _"Yes, I have been watching you, hoping that things would be different from what we both remember"_ he said. Hagoromo nodded mentally, _'so did I, but it looks like things have turned out the same way anyway- I only hope both things go well, and though I pray that_ _ **that**_ _does not happen- I have a very bad feeling'_ she thought back. Hagoromo stepped into the room and off the stairs, "Kaa-Sama," she said. "Hagoromo, you two broke the law and went to that peak, did you not?" Kaguya asked in a stern voice, her face hard, no trace of warmth to be seen.

"Hiding things from me is useless," she stated. "I can read your thoughts and feelings" the red-haired woman had to fight the urge to gulp, "then you must know why we are angry at you Kaa-Sama" she replied, red Sharingan staring straight ahead. A smile stretched on her mother's lips, "so, your 'best friend' died, did she?" the white-haired woman asked. "It does not matter whether she was my best friend or not," Hagoromo replied, "all the people of this land are precious to me- I also found out what you did in the past. Why would you do such a terrible thing?" she asked. "You both have no idea how dreadful they can be," Kaguya replied, "that is why an army is necessary". "You are turning them into soldiers?" Hagoromo asked, "Kaa-Sama, just what are you? Where did you come from?" the red-haired woman demanded to know.

"I come, from a place far, far away in the sky- a place where you three can never go" the Rabbit Goddess replied. The eldest of the Otsutsuki siblings narrowed her eyes, "I would not want to go there anyway, this is my home!" she replied with force. Kaguya continued like there was never any interruption, "but someday, they will come to take me back. Love does not work on them… they understand only power". The red-haired woman stepped forwards, "still, even you must have believed in love in the past?!" Hagoromo said, thinking of the picture of their father that hung on the wall inside their house, "we are proof of that love" she stated. "But," Kaguya said, "my love was also betrayed" she said, as she remembered the day that she invoked the Infinite Tsukuyomi, flaming arrows flying towards her, using her arms to shield her stomach where her two children were growing, while their father unknowingly tried to kill all three of them.

Watching as her aid and friend ran forwards to try to tell the man she had loved that she was pregnant with his children, and getting hit by the arrows in the process and dying. "And now, I am betrayed by the two for whom I risked my life for and shared my power with!" Kaguya said angrily. The red-haired woman clenched her fists. Did she not understand? This wouldn't be happening if she had only tried to understand humans rather than enslave them. Yes, Hagoromo accepted that there were a lot of bad people in the world, but there were also a lot of good ones! "Kaa-Sama, do you not understand? The Ritual of the Divine Tree is bad! The tree itself is destroying this land! You are killing innocent and good people, people who have done nothing to you!" she exclaimed, frustrated.

Kaguya stood up, "I protected you and nurtured you all this time- I even allowed you to keep the Chakra that you had inherited from me! It seems that it was all for naught," she said. "We will never see eye to eye, so Hagoromo-" she paused, and the red-haired woman tensed, "I am taking back… that power." Suddenly, Hagoromo's sensing ability went haywire, and she dodged just in time as Hamura leapt at her from the shadows. _'Damn it! she_ _ **is**_ _controlling him!'_ she thought as her twin brother continued to attack her under the control of their mother. Dodging a particularly vicious strike that destroyed the pillar of wood she had been standing in front of not moments before, Hagoromo growled, yes, actually _growled_ "Kaa-Sama!" she said angrily. "What did you do to Hamura!" she demanded, Sharingan watching her brothers every move.

"Hagoromo, if this love you speak of is real, you will not be able to kill Hamura" Kaguya said passively, like watching her middle child try to kill her oldest was something she did every day. As she dodged strike after strike, memories whirled in the red-haired Otsutsuki's mind. The two of them spending their days taking peaceful walks through the forest around their old home. Talking together about her dream, and Hamura saying he would always stand by her side. Playing together, and the day that Hamura was killed by that demon. Studying the ways of peace at the temple, and saving that village from demons, then it's children from Influenza. All the times they shared together, fought alongside each other and protected the innocent together. And now their mother wanted them to kill each other? Hagoromo became angry and she leapt out of the building.

Landing on the ground outside, her mind-controlled brother followed, aiming a palm-thrust at her heart. The young woman continued to dodge and block, stepping back and breathing heavily, _'damn it, I cannot keep this up- even my stamina has a limit, and Hamura has always been faster than me!'_ she thought. Focusing, Hagoromo drew upon Nature Chakra, mixing it with her own and increasing her power. "Forgive me Otouto" she whispered as she focused lightning Chakra into her left hand, creating an attack similar to Sasuke's Chidori. Hamura shot towards her again, aiming a punch at his sister's head. Blocking with her right hand, the Sage of the Six Paths thrust her lightning-coated hand towards her younger twin brother's chest.

Her hand pierced flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter, and his blood splattered onto the ground. The woman clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see it. A single tear trailed down her cheek. Trembling, Hagoromo opened her eyes. Hamura's shocked face met her pained one, "Nee-Sama!" he gasped, before coughing up blood. Hagoromo's eyes glowed a deep red as they changed from the Sharingan to the Mangekyo Sharingan. His legs going weak, the younger Otsutsuki twin collapsed to the ground. Or he would have if not for Hagoromo's iron-like grip on his body. The red-haired woman gently lowered Hamura to the ground, turning his body so that he was facing upwards.

Her breathing was harsh, maybe as much as her brothers as she starred at her dying twin, gasping with pain. Her body was trembling as she bent over him. "I-" Hamura gasped, staring with worried eyes at her older sister, "Kaa-Sama was controlling you," she stated, forcing her voice to remain even, to keep some semblance of calm for Hamura's sake. The white-haired man smiled slightly, "I am sorry" he whispered. "Do not speak, I will heal you" Hagoromo said, forming several hand signs. The King Of Hell appeared in a cloud of smoke and the red-haired woman carried her younger brother over to it. Gently placing her injured sibling into its mouth, Hagoromo watched as the construct with Rinnegan eyes chewed on her brother's body, before opening its mouth again.

Hamura climbed out as good as new, "wow, I did not know you had awakened a new ability sister" he said, as the contrast vanished in a cloud of smoke. Hagoromo shrugged, "I awakened it just now, and I think we have bigger things to worry about" she replied, turning to Kaguya, who floated up through the straw roof of the house. She was absolutely livid with rage. "Hagoromo, Hamura!" she hissed, as her third eye opened and revealed her RinneSharingan. "How dare you" Hagoromo whispered, "how dare you make me kill him!" she shouted, "you are supposed to be our mother! What kind of mother makes one child kill the other?!" Hagoromo felt the same fury that had engulfed her when she found out the truth behind the Ritual of the Divine Tree take hold of her once again, "what kind of mother stands there and watches her children kill each other?!" she demanded.

Suddenly her Shakujo appeared in her left hand. Hamura's also appeared in his left hand. They were ready for the final battle. Bethany didn't feel scared or nervous anymore, all she felt now was fury and a desire to end it. The ground began to shake. Gamamaru struggled to stay on top of the roof that he was watching them from. The two siblings looked around for where the earthquake was coming from. "What is that?" Hagoromo asked. "Nee-Sama, look!" Hamura cried, pointing toward something in the distance. The woman looked to where her twin was pointing. The Divine Tree was shaking. Then before their eyes, the entire thing twisted, changed, and became something else entirely.

"I feel an enormous power" Hamura muttered, as they both stared in morbid fascination, as the Divine Tree morphed into the Ten Tails. The monster shrieked and roared, climbing up out of the ground. Hagoromo and Hamura got ready, and braced themselves for the fight of their lives, against not only their mother, but the incarnation of the Divine Tree as well.

To Be Continued


	18. Chapter 18

The Ten Tails roared as it ran towards them. Hagoromo and Hamura stood their ground as the monster charged. Several of its tails shot towards them, but the two siblings leapt away from each other, dodging the attack. Or at least it seemed that way at first. However, more of it's tails curved around behind the red-haired woman. "Hagoromo!" Hamura called, seeing the attack with his Byakugan. Thrusting out her right hand, the elder of the siblings sent a large amount of Chakra through her hand. "Shinra Tensei!" she cried. The wave of Gravity slammed into the Ten Tails appendage, causing it to get flung back and crash into a nearby mountain, shattering half of it into pieces. The monster pushed itself up, crushing the rest of the mountain.

The manifestation of the Divine Tree focused a truly massive amount of Chakra to it's mouth, creating a black and red cone-shaped energy. _"The Preta Path can absorb an unlimited amount of Chakra"_ Sennin-Sama reminded her. Hagoromo nodded, holding out her left hand. The Ten Tails Biju Bomb hit the clear barrier and was absorbed into the woman's body. Focusing, Hagoromo sent a wave of lightning at the Juubi. However, the creature just batted it away as though it were a fly that was bothering. The Ten Tails roared again, once again sending several of its tails at the two who were attacking it. The red-haired woman entered Six Paths Sage Mode and used one of her Truth-Seeking Balls to encase both herself and her brother in a sphere of the malleable Yin/Yang Chakra. The attack hit the sphere and an explosion erupted around them.

The ball cracked and shook. Hagoromo clenched her eyes shut in concentration, as the former Divine Tree battered the sphere with impossible strength. "Sister" Hamura said, worried. The woman peeled open one eye, "Hamura! This shield is not going to hold out much longer, I need you to use your Byakugan and tell me where the Juubi is now and where it is attacking from!" she ordered. Just then another Ten Tailed Beast Ball hit the sphere, cracking it completely. Knowing how urgent the situation was, the white-haired man quickly activated his Byakugan and looked beyond the Sphere. "Hagoromo, it is coming in from north-west" he replied. Several fists slammed against the Truth-Seeking Ball shield, shaking the entire thing. Hagoromo knew that if another attack like that hit their shield, it would break completely.

"Alright, I am going to remove the back of the shield, we get out and out of it's range and then we think of the next move" the woman explained. Hamura nodded. "Wait," she said as the banging continued, "wait," the sound of the Juubi slamming it's tails against their barrier were becoming weaker, "wait-" Hagoromo said. Suddenly the sounds stopped. "Now!" Hagoromo removed the back part of the ball and the two siblings shot out of it. Just then the Ten Tails barrelled into the sphere, or where it had been. The black dome shape compacted back into a ball and floated back behind the red-haired woman. "We need a plan" Hamura said. Hagoromo scrutinised the monster they fought. It's tails were the most pressing matter at the moment. They had to immobilise it. "I am going to perform a wide range Earth technique, so stand back!" Hagoromo called. She was the elemental specialist after all.

Both twins jumped further back, and the Sage of the Six Paths slammed both hands onto the ground, sending her Chakra into it and softening the dirt. The ground beneath the Juubi began to suck it downwards, as it turned into Quicksand. It didn't stop until half of it's body was submerged, but it was enough. The armlike tails of the monster were trapped as well, and the mud-like substance hardened, effectively keeping them from moving towards them. Suddenly the ground trembled as the Juubi struggled to get free. "This is not going to hold for very long, we must attack now!" the elder Otsutsuki exclaimed. Just then the ground cracked as the monster tried to wrench itself free. "It's strength is immense, despite all the Chakra I just absorbed from it, I am still having a hard time keeping it trapped" Hagoromo said. Hamura nodded, and removed the sword strapped across his back from it's sheath.

Suddenly the blade was coated thickly in lightning Chakra, increasing it's cutting power. Hey, no one ever said Hamura never learned elemental manipulation to a more extensive degree than shooting out waves of wind. Hamura leapt into the air and brought his blade down onto one of the Juubi's tails. The appendage was sliced clean off, causing the twisted creature to roar in pain and anger. Renewing it's struggles, the Juubi once again tried to break free of the hardened rock that held it down. The ground cracked even more. Hamura went in to take out another tail, the section of ground that encased the Ten Tails back cracked even more. Hamura saw it immediately, but had no time to move out of the way.

Just then the entire back part of the ground shattered apart like glass and the many tails went right for the white-haired man. "Hamura!" Hagoromo screamed, breaking her position and shooting to a standing position. The woman held out her right hand, and her Rinnegan pulsed with power, "Bansho Tenin!" she cried out. Just as the Juubi was about to hit her brother and probably break every bone in his body, the attractive forces of the technique grabbed hold of his body, and Hamura was drawn towards his sister. The red-head entered Six Paths Sage Mode and flew up to meet him, catching her twin in mid-air. "Are you alright?" she asked, franticly checking the man to see if he was hurt.

Hamura sighed in relief, "I am fine, thanks to you" he replied gratefully. Hagoromo sent a Truth-Seeking ball down below her brother, which transformed into a platform. The young man stepped onto it tentatively, before sighing, "well, that is useful" Hamura said. They turned their attention back to the beast below them, "come on!" Hagoromo cried, both of them shooting downwards as the Juubi roared.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The initial battle lasted for weeks, with the two siblings alternating between fighting the Ten Tails and fighting their mother. Villages were destroyed, mountains smashed and the entire landscape was completely changed. With her ability to absorb limitless amounts of Chakra, Hagoromo never ran out and was also able to give Hamura Chakra when he ran low. Kaguya also tried several times to separate the siblings by opening portals to different dimensions and places, but Hagoromo and Hamura were able to stay together. Eventually Kaguya tried one last gamble.

She fused herself with the Juubi and added her power to its. Then the battle began again, this time lasting for months. Eventually, Hagoromo and Hamura managed to force the Ten Tails into a corner. The two stood on two different rocks, both holding their staffs. "This is getting us nowhere, it is too strong!" Hamura exclaimed. Hagoromo stared at it, clenching her fists, "I may have a plan, but it depends on a few things, like if we can hold it down for more than two minutes this time" she said. Hamura thought for a moment, how about- "Hagoromo, all those years while you were developing your abilities and learning to use Nature Chakra, I was pursuing a hobby that I found extremely interesting- I call it Sealing" he explained. The woman's eyes widened, "then you mean that you are thinking of-" Hamura nodded, "I am thinking of sealing this monster- even though it was Kaa-Sama, it has killed hundreds of people- and all those bodies trapped in the roots of the Divine Tree- if it is the only way, then-" the white-haired man looked sad, "I only wish there was another way- she is our Kaa-Sama after all" he said.

Hagoromo nodded, "So do I- but she tried to make you kill me as well, and almost made me kill you, this is the only way to end it!" she exclaimed, determined but sad. Hamura agreed and continued speaking, "it will take a little time for me to prepare, and I do not think that either of us will be able to take the entirety of this monster inside ourselves". Hagoromo gained a determined look, "I can stall for time for you, and do not worry- I have an idea as to how we can overcome that," she explained. "I have recently awakened a new power of my Rinnegan- I call it the Nakara Path, I have practiced it on some of the Toads that knew about my resurrection technique and were willing to allow me to practice it on them- of course it took a little convincing, but once I reassured them that I could fully control my Outer Path, they did not object," the red-haired woman stated.

"And?" Hamura prompted, "what can it do?" he asked curiously, while using his Byakugan to simultaneously keep an eye on the Ten Tails. So far it seemed to be watching for their next move, which was scary. But they would just have to work around it if the monster was on to them. Hagoromo lent in close and whispered in her brother's ear, "I can draw out the Chakra soul of anyone I touch, with this ability, I can remove the Ten Tails Chakra and you can seal it inside of me". Hamura nodded, so that was his sister's plan. The red-haired woman stood up straight, "now, go!" she exclaimed. The two jumped towards the Juubi, which tried to swat them out of the air. However, the young woman used her Six Paths Sage Mode and its flight ability and dodged each of the arms, while carrying her brother. Hagoromo held out her hand. When she touched the Ten Tails' head, she whispered: "Nakara Path" .

Then she pulled her hand back, and a huge ethereal- shape was drawn out of the Juubi's body. As soon as the last of the Chakra was drawn out of the Juubi, the form of it changed. It became a humanoid figure with nine eyes, which roared in rage at loosing most of it's Chakra. Hagoromo slammed one hand on the ground, which shot up and slammed into both sides of what was left of the Ten Tails, pinning it in place. "It may have lost most of its Chakra now, but that thing is still powerful, so hurry up and seal it's Chakra into me quickly Hamura!" the red-haired woman ordered. The white-haired man nodded and got to work quickly. As soon as he was finished, the Juubi's husk broke free of it's bindings.

It was at that moment the Chakra of the Ten Tails was finished being sealed into the current eldest Otsutsuki. The woman felt an enormous rush of power fill her to the very brim, and she gasped in shock as her Chakra levels shot higher than anyone else's, even Kaguya's. As the husk of the monster tried to attack them Hagoromo focused, and suddenly multiple chains of Chakra shot out of the ground, wrapping around the Gedo Statue and binding it tightly. The Juubi's husk roared and struggled, but was ultimately unable to escape. Just before it was fully tied down, it shot off a wooden stake at the eldest Otsutsuki. Hagoromo was too focused on the chains and was unable to move in time. Just as the last of the Giant was bound, a giant wooden stake slammed through the woman's stomach. Hamura's eyes widened in horror, "Hagoromo!" he cried.

As the woman hit the ground, the white-haired man shot over to his twin. He knelt over her body. Blood seeped out of the wound and her mouth. "No! no! no! no! Hagoromo!" Hamura searched his sister frantically, trying to find some way to save her. With a pained expression on her face and difficult movements, Hagoromo moved her hand up to the top of her kimono. She panted harshly, "b-brother-" she gasped, "Ga-Gama-maru g-gave, s-seal" her entire body shook harshly. Hamura watched closely. The red-haired woman reached into her kimono and grasped the seal tag that the future Toad Elder had given her. However, the strength in her arm gave out and she dropped the tag.

Hamura picked up the tag and looked at it. It seemed to glow with Nature Chakra to his eyes. Hagoromo scrunched her eyes in pain and gasped. Hamura's eyes widened as his twin sister seemed to grow weaker and weaker before him. "Hagoromo!" he exclaimed, lifting the woman up slightly. Then he focused his Chakra into his palm and slammed it onto the wooden stake, pushing it out of Hagoromo's stomach. The red-haired woman winched in pain, but kept silent. The white-haired man then placed the tag onto his sister's face. The tag glowed bright green, and Hamura watched as Hagoromo's wound healed before his eyes.

Then the tag was absorbed into the elder Otsutsuki's skin and vanished. Hagoromo's eyes snapped open, "sister!" Hamura cried, openly showing his joy for the first time. As he helped his twin sit up, the woman turned to look at her brother and smiled. "Thank you brother" she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The white-haired man stilled, then hugged the woman back, "heh, it seems that were even now brother" Hagoromo said. The Gedo Statue's roar brought the two out of their hug. The Sage of the Six Paths turned to see that the Juubi's husk was about to break free.

Once again, more Chains shot from the ground and wrapped even tighter around the body of the Ten Tails, ensuring that it couldn't move an inch. Finally all that was left was a seemingly incapacitated and subdued Gedo Statue. For a moment everything was completely still and silent. Then Hamura fell to the ground. Hagoromo's eyes widened, and she snapped her gaze to her twin.

The white-haired man was sitting on the ground and panting, looking utterly exhausted for the first time since she'd known him. His clothes were dirty and torn, as were her own, and his face was covered in dirt, bruises and scratches, as was the rest of his body. In fact every piece of visible skin was marred in some way. "Oh my god! Hamura, are you alright!?" she asked, rushing up to him and looking the man over. The younger twin turned to face his sister, "yes, I am alright, just exhausted" he explained. Hagoromo smiled, "well then, let me give you some Chakra, after all, we are twins, our Chakra is basically the same". Hamura nodded and took his sisters hand. He felt his Chakra reserves fill up and sighed, getting to his feet.

"Let us go get the others then return home, we can have a bath each and then I can heal those wounds for you" Hagoromo stated. The white-haired man nodded, and both began to walk off. Suddenly the red-haired woman paused, "wait, what about that?" she asked, pointing towards the immobilised Gedo Statue. Her brother scrutinised the statue, then shrugged, "I am too exhausted to think too much about anything at the moment" he replied. Hagoromo frowned, then decided that there was nothing that they could do about it at this second. "Alright, let us return to the temple and retrieve our Imoto and Haori then return home for now" she said. Her twin nodded, then both left the area.

To Be Continued


	19. Chapter 19

"Are you sure that this is going to work?" Haori asked worriedly as she, Kagura and Tsukuyomi watched Hamura add some last minute touches to two very detailed seals. After Kaguya's defeat, the twins had returned to the temple, thanked their master and retrieved their younger sister and Hagoromo's best friend. Then they returned home and washed up, after which the two siblings, on Haori's suggestion went and brought Tsukuyomi to their house as well. Then the twins took turns explaining what happened during their battle with their mother and after it was over. It was safe to say that the three of them were awed, but also worried about the eldest Otsutsuki, as they did not know how having the Chakra of the Juubi sealed inside her would affect the young woman.

But they soon gave up worrying about it when Hamura had pointed out that they had a much bigger problem to worry about first. "Oh, yes, the people trapped in the Divine Tree, well, cutting them out does not seem to be an option, that ends up killing those who were trapped, and I cannot revive all of them, the majority of a single small village is one thing, but there are far too many to bring back that way" Hagoromo replied, thinking. "What if we found a way to release this technique without cutting them out of the roots?" she asked. "Perhaps a seal can be crafted that, when our Chakra is channeled through them, can release our mothers technique" Hamura thought out loud.

The older of the siblings nodded, "that may work" she replied. And now, two months later, the seals were finally ready to be used. The white-haired man nodded, "hai, I am sure, these seals will release our mother's technique" he replied, having checked both seals several dozen times. Hagoromo nodded, "alright, let us end this nightmare brother" she said. Both twins placed the palms of their dominant hands over the seals and channeled their Chakra through them. When they lifted their hands and looked at their palms, the two saw that the seals had transformed into a white circle on Hagoromo's palm, and a black crescent moon on Hamura's. The white-haired man nodded, "good, that worked properly," he spoke out loud to himself.

Then he turned to his twin, "now we need to place our palms together and Channel our Chakra through the symbols, and that will break our Kaa-Sama's technique" he explained. Hagoromo nodded, having complete faith in her brother's seals, not to mention that she'd seen them work first hand. Placing their hands together in what would become the Rat hand sign, the two channeled their Chakra through the symbols on their palms and a shockwave of Chakra was expelled from their bodies. After a few moments, the group went to check that the release had worked. When they got there, they found many people sitting or standing up and asking those closest to them what had happened. Soon enough, word began to spread that the Sage of the Six Paths and her brother, the Sage of Balance had saved them.

Cheers rose up and everyone crowded around the small group, all asking what had happened. After explaining, and receiving many thanks, the Otsutsuki siblings, Haori and Tsukuyomi bid them farewell and returned home. After the day she'd had, all Hagoromo wanted was to rest. And no matter how much she loved her brother, she was a woman and she did need her privacy. Suddenly a knock on the door caught her attention. "Come in!" she called. The door opened to reveal Tsukuyomi. The red-haired woman smiled at the silver-haired man, who smiled back. "I just wanted to, congratulate you on your victory against your mother" he explained, slightly awkward.

Hagoromo blushed slightly, "thank you, I appreciate it- now, if that is all-" she turned away, but Tsukuyomi caught her wrist, "no, that is not all- Hagoromo, I- I just wanted you to know- I love you" he said softly. The elder Otsutsuki blushed and her eyes widened, "wha-?" she started to ask, but was cut off when the silver-haired older brother of her best friend closed the distance between their faces and suddenly his lips were touching hers in a gentle kiss. Hagoromo froze, then melted. When the man pulled away, he saw that the red-haired woman was blushing.

He placed his hand against her face, looking at her tenderly, "I love you Hagoromo Otsutsuki" he said softly with a smile. Hagoromo smiled back, "I love you too Tsukuyomi Kenta," she replied happily, "and I want to spend the rest of my life with you". Tsukuyomi closed his eyes, "marry me?" he whispered, "yes" the woman replied, just as quietly. The man opened his eyes and wrapped his arms around his soon-to-be-wife. Hagoromo returned hug. In her old world, she never met anyone that she loved, but now she truly felt like this man was her Soul-mate. They were meant to be together, the woman could tell. She finally felt like she had the one thing she had been missing in her life, and she was never going to lose it.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

After a simple, but perfect wedding, during which Tsukuyomi said that he was going to take her last name instead, the two were named husband and wife and were now Hagoromo and Tsukuyomi Otsutsuki. After celebrating their wedding night with deeply _passionate_ activities, the silver haired man moved in with his wife's family, along with his younger sister. The newest Otsutsuki explained that it was because their house was much larger than his own, and would be good for if and when they started a family.

Hagoromo had to agree there. One day, several months after the wedding she was gathering Nature Chakra to sense out the area which was a habit she had picked up once relative peace had been achieved after the battle with Kaguya. Something suddenly came to her attention. She could feel a new Chakra nearby. Focusing more, the woman realised that it wasn't a Chakra that was walking around. Frowning slightly, she focused on herself, like she had done many times before during meditation. There was her massive Chakra. The Juubi's even larger Chakra, and there it was. A small, but slowly growing Chakra signature within her body.

Hagoromo's eyes widened and she placed her hands over her stomach. _'I am- this is- Indra-Kun!'_ she thought, before a wide grin spread across her face. She whooped in joy and rushed inside to tell her husband the happy news. She was so overjoyed, she didn't even register the second Chakra signature resonating in harmony with the first.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

The Sage of the Six Paths hummed happily as she sat in her bedroom and sewed a miniature robe for her baby boy to wear. As she did so, Hagoromo reassured herself that things were going to different this time. She would make sure to curb any thoughts Indra had about power being everything as soon as she could. Things may not change that much in the far future, but perhaps she could change the near future at least. This boy was _her_ child now, and as his mother, Hagoromo would do everything she possibly could to change Indra's viewpoint. She could try at least. She then paused what she was doing and sighed, _'what am I thinking? I cannot change things! I could not even save my mother from going insane-'_ the red-head deflated, _'Neji was right, fate cannot be changed'_ the woman thought gloomily.

" _What do you mean? You already have changed a lot of things, I am sure that you could save Indra if you really wanted to, after all, you did not think that you could stop Kaguya either, and you did"_ Sennin-Sama comforted her, _"I believe in you Bethany-Chan- you have proven yourself to be capable of many things- if you truly set you mind to it, I know you could change Indra's viewpoint, besides, you are not alone, we are all here for you"_ the previous Sage said. Hagoromo smiled slightly, _'thank you Sennin-Sama, I am truly grateful for your support'_ she replied. _'Then it is settled- I will try my best to save my son from that fate, and if I cannot, then that is how things are were meant to be, no matter how much I hate that thought'_ the woman sighed, _'I only wish that my children did not have to suffer so much'._

Closing her eyes, the woman began to sing: "Rou takaku nobou Hikari, wakitachi taru omoi, mamorubeki ryuu no michi yo, shiraha sasu sora wo agoi. Suna, kaze, arabu tomo, sakihokoru kou no hi yo hana ni maichiran. Rasen ni tsutau Hikari , ryuu no te wo tatsu niwa e, arishi hi no omokage yo, towa no uta wo kokoro tsunagi." Hagoromo paused to take a breath, then continued to sing, "ten, ran mado, moe sakaru ware no hi yo yami wo kirisakan. Rou takaku noboru Hikari, nagaruru toki kioku. Ayumubeki ikiru michi wo, yue ni ikru sora o aogi." As Hagoromo finished she opened her eyes and placed her hand on her stomach, smiling down at her unborn child, _'I truly cannot wait to meet you Indra-Kun, I know you are really a good boy, and I will always love you, no matter what happens- my precious son'_ she thought, rubbing her baby bump tenderly.

To Be Continued.


	20. Chapter 20

Ten months later Hagoromo was getting ready to give birth. The two Chakra signatures inside her body were strong now, though she had still not realised that she was carrying twins. The red-haired woman, worried about the Juubi escaping when she gave birth, had her twin their helping her to suppress the Ten Tails while she herself focused on giving birth to her son. Breathing heavily, the red-haired woman pushed hard. Tsukuyomi held her hand, squeezing it tightly when a particularly strong contraction went through her body. However hardened she was, Hagoromo couldn't help screaming, before she grit her teeth as hard as she could and pushed. "That is good, just keep breathing Hagoromo" Hamura stated, demonstrating the fast, short breaths that she needed.

With how much pain she was in, the red-heard woman didn't hesitate to glare at her twin with a dark look that could freeze lava, "are, you the one, having this, baby?" she forced out. Hamura shuddered, "uh, no?" he asked, nervous. He knew that his sister would never willingly hurt him, but the look she was currently giving him as she panted harshly made him think that she might just destroy him if he didn't stop talking. "Then shut up and help me properly damn it!" she screamed as another contraction tore through her body. The white-haired man flinched. Despite the fact that she would never hurt him willingly, Hagoromo was the one person that he feared completely.

Even his mother was never as frightening as an enraged Hagoromo. Of course he'd never seen her that angry, but the day the two of them had killed those demons attacking Kaguya's village had probably been as close to enraged as he'd had consciously seen her. His twin was so freaking powerful, and always had been. It was strange that someone like that needed someone like him around all the time, but his sister had always said that she found him an invaluable asset, weather it was during battles, for moral support, or just for company, his sister had never seen him as a burden. It was very encouraging. After all, he was the middle child of the Rabbit Goddess- his mother, older sister, and even Kagura were all stronger than him. And no matter how much people said that they admired and loved all three siblings, Hamura knew that they all secretly thought of him as the weak link.

And it was painful to think that no matter how much he tried to prove his worth, how he tried to help people- Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths was the only name they would remember. It didn't matter if his twin said that the two of them were equals, or saw him as such. The truth was that he would never match up to his oldest sister. And it was a painful thought. He wanted to stand by Hagoromo's side, be someone that his twin could rely on. But if he wasn't strong enough- "aahhhhh!" the red-haired woman screamed as a contraction ripped through her, her pained cry snapping Hamura out of his thoughts. The younger twin cursed himself and his inattentiveness in his mind. What was he doing, getting lost in his thoughts at a time like this when Hagoromo needed him? not only did she need moral support for the labour, but it was _his_ job to make sure the Juubi's seal stayed unbroken during it.

With his Byakugan, Hamura could see just how weak it had become over the months with the Chakra diverted from it to the growing baby. _'Shit'_ he thought, eyes widening at how much his lapse in attention allowed the seal to weaken. A pulse of vile Chakra erupted from his sister, causing everyone present to feel their skin crawl. He would recognise that Chakra anywhere. Quickly he lifted Hagoromo's shirt. His eyes widened in horror. The seal was _breaking!_ Before he could do anything, Hagoromo grabbed his arm. He turned towards his twin with wide eyes. The woman was panting with exertion, but she still managed to speak, "r-release, the seal" she gasped. Hamura's eyes widened, "what! Are you insane? You _know_ what we went through to seal that thing inside you, and now you want me to-" he was cut off from his nearly hysterical rant when the red-head's eyes snapped to rippled amaranthine, her Rinnegan glowing with power, "just do it!" she demanded.

Hamura stared at her for but a moment, before nodding in understanding and getting to work. Hagoromo turned towards her husband, "get back!" she cried. Tsukuyomi immediately complied and ran as far as he dared- he still wanted to support his wife after all. The white-haired twin released the seal on his sister and the Chakra of the Juubi flowed out of her. Instantly, the same chains of Chakra that she had used in the fight with the Juubi shot out of the eldest Otsutsuki's body and wrapped around the Chakra, holding it in place. With great effort, Hagoromo commanded the chains to separate the Chakra into nine different portions, each bigger than the last. Hamura ran back to where his brother-in-law was standing, wanting to give the woman some space for whatever she was doing and also to protect the black-haired weaker man if needed.

With great exertion, Hagoromo focused and red Yang Chakra and blue Yin Chakra appeared above the red-haired woman's hands. Hamura, recognising the technique that his sister had named Banbutsu Sozo, or Creation Of All Things, wondered just what she was going to do. Imagining the forms of Nine specific beings, the eldest Otsutsuki clapped her hands together, and purple light enveloped the area, "Banbutsu Sozo!" she exclaimed.

 _ **ĤŎ**_

When the light had cleared, the forms of nine fairly large and strange creatures had appeared in the area. They each had a different number of tails numbering from one to nine. And each was different. The first, with only one tail looked sort of like a racoon, with a large tail that got bigger nearing the end of it, sandy fur, that had strange blue markings all over it and of course black rings around it's eyes. The second, with two tails, was what seemed to be a blue and black flaming feline. The third was a kind of red turtle, with a large grey shell and three tails behind it. The forth looked like a large red ape with four tails and two large tusks protruding from it's mouth. The fifth was a white dolphin hoarse with, as expected, five long tails that ended in a red tip each.

The sixth creature was a large slug that had six short tails. The seventh was a strange insect, almost like a kabuki beetle, with six red wings and one long tail. The eighth creature looked like a cross between an ox and a octopus, with the top half of an ox, and eight long octopus tails behind it's back. And last but defiantly not least was an orange fox with nine long tails. Each of them looked to be asleep right now, and were fairly small. Hagoromo stood their panting, as doing that so suddenly had used up a massive portion of Chakra, not to mention how much she just lost. Suddenly another contraction went through her body and she collapsed to the ground, "the baby!" Tsukuyomi exclaimed, both men running over to her and laying her down once again.

"Push! Push as hard as you can!" Hamura cried, resolved to help get this baby out of his sister as soon as possible. The woman screamed as she used all the strength that was left in her body, as well as tapping into her extremely strong life force and pushed as hard as she could. Suddenly a cry was heard as the baby came out of her. Make that _two_ cries. Hagoromo's eyes snapped open as she calmed her breathing. Looking at her husband and brother, she saw that they were each holding a baby. Her eyes widened, "congratulations sister, you and Tsukuyomi have twins- one boy and one girl" Hamura said, happy to be an uncle.

Panting the red-head examined the twins that each man held. One was a boy with spiky black hair and pale skin. The other was a girl with dark red hair and pale skin. Tsukuyomi smiled at the woman he loved, "you did it Hagoromo-Chan," he said happily. He was a father now! The red-haired woman smiled slightly, closing her eyes and feeling utterly drained for the first time in her life. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she forced her eyes open again and looked at her _two_ children. "What are we going to call them?" Tsukuyomi asked. "Indra and- Heiwa" Hagoromo replied tiredly. Hamura's eyes widened. She was naming her daughter peace? Well, it made sense, after all, it was her greatest dream.

Thankfully, her husband seemed to understand, "you want to name her after your dream, alright, Heiwa it is" he said happily. The woman smiled weakly, before she collapsed in exhaustion.

To Be Continued


	21. Chapter 21

It had been 6 years since the second lot of Otsutsuki twins was born. Indra, while still a genius, was more quiet, calm and, dare she say it, _happy_. It seemed having a twin sister was the best thing that ever happened to Indra. While not outgoing and bright like his younger brother Asura, Indra was defiantly better off having someone by his side that understood him. The tailed beasts had grown as well and lived together in a cave that Hagoromo had created for them. They each saw the 23 year old woman as their mother, and somewhat saw Indra and Heiwa as siblings. Hagoromo named each of the beings that she had created, calling them collectively Tailed Beasts, or Biju officially. The day she named them was something that Tsukuyomi would forever remember, _*flashback*_

 _Hagoromo walked with purposeful steps towards the cave where she'd placed all the Tailed Beasts was. It had been a few days, and she had recovered fully with Hamura and Kagura's help from the double whammy of childbirth and losing the tailed beasts at the same time. Her siblings had had to help her feed her children, as she had been too weak for a short time to hold the twins herself. And now that she had regained her strength, she was going to see her other children. Her husband walked beside her, slightly nervous, however reassured by his wife that the nine Biju would not harm him. As they reached a cave near their house, Hagoromo walked inside without hesitation._

 _After a single moment of deliberation, Tsukuyomi entered behind her. They walked a short way, before entering an extremely large cavern, aglow with light from an unidentifiable source. Sitting talking rather loudly to each other, were the Tailed Beasts that Hagoromo had created on the day she gave birth to Indra and Heiwa. The red-haired woman just stood and observed them for a moment._ _ **"Where do you think we are?"**_ _the cat-like one with two tails asked. The giant slug tilted it's head,_ _ **"I am not sure, do you think that we should go out and look around?"**_ _he asked._ _The giant bug turned towards them,_ _ **"hey, I think we have some visitors"**_ _he said. The young Biju turned to look at them, and Hagoromo smiled, "hello, it is a pleasure to meet all of you, my name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki, however, since I am the one that created you, I suppose that you could call me Kaa-Sama" she replied happily._

 _The nine tailed fox peered at her closely._ _ **"Kaa-Sama?"**_ _he asked curiously. "Yes," the red-haired woman replied, "or mother, whatever you want to call me, it is completely your choice- you could even call me creator if you want, but I would prefer for us all to be a family" she explained. The Biju looked between each other, then back to her,_ _ **"Mother is fine"**_ _the large four tailed ape spoke up this time. Hagoromo smiled, "alright, now, on to important matters," she paused for a moment, "you each need a name to distinguish yourselves as people" she said happily. "Now, line up in a single line, and I will give you each a name, I have already come up with them,". Each of them nodded and did as their mother asked._

 _The large one tailed sand Racoon came up first. Tsukuyomi watched all this with wide eyes, it was hard to believe that these were fragments of the monster that caused so much destruction for months. Hagoromo placed one hand on the Sand Racoon's head and stroked it slightly, then she smiled softly, "your name will be Shukaku, it is a pleasure to officially meet you son" she said. The newly dubbed Shukaku blushed then smiled happily. Shukaku stood up and walked to the back of the line. The two tailed cat then walked up and sat before her. "You are a girl, like myself" Hagoromo said happily._

" _I am?" the cat asked. The red haired Otsutsuki nodded, "you are, now, as for your name-" she regarded the blue flaming feline, "how do you like Matatabi?" she asked. The now named Matatabi nodded, "thank you mother" she replied with a smile, also walking to the back of the line behind Shukaku._

 _ **ĤŎ**_

 _After all the Tailed Beasts had been named, they all sat in a circle around the eldest Otsutsuki. Kurama, the last to have been named sat directly before the woman. Despite the fact that he was her husband, Tsukuyomi felt that this was something personal between the Tailed Beasts and his wife. "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuuki and Kurama, you have all been created by me and are my children, from this day on, I will care for you, love you, protect you and teach you until the day comes when you no longer need my protection and care, I hope that we will all be able to live together as one family," here, Hagoromo paused and turned to her husband. She gestured him over, which he complied to with slight hesitation._

" _This is my husband, Tsukuyomi Otsutsuki, I have two siblings, and twin children, you will meet the rest of our family at a later date, but for now, we are family, and I promise that I will ensure your safety as long as you trust me" the red-haired woman stated. Tsukuyomi stared up at all the young Biju and in that instant, saw them how his wife did. As innocent and easily influenced children. And he swore to himself, even if they never had as deep a connection with him as they did to their mother, he would do everything he could to protect them as well. After all, the Juubi destroyed and killed so many, if people ever found out that his wife had done something like this, Sage of the Six Paths or not, they would come for their heads._

 _And he_ _ **would not**_ _allow that. He bowed, "I know that you may never see me as a father, and I understand that, but I promise you, that I will do everything in my power to help keep you safe. I swear that on my life" he said sincerely, then stood up straight. His life may never be normal again, but that didn't mean that it couldn't have gotten better. *End flashback*_

Today, Indra and Heiwa were meditating together to try and awaken their Chakra. The two were doing very well, though neither had actually awakened their Chakra yet, they had delved quite far into their psyche. Hagoromo sat before the twins, watching the two of them focus their breathing. Indra seemed to fall into a meditative trace easily, which, despite expecting the boy to be smart, since even Sennin-Sama himself said that he was a genius, was still surprising to the eldest Otsutsuki. Heiwa was able to calm herself very fast as well. Suddenly a burst of Chakra caught Hagoromo's attention. She turned to the source, and saw a large amount of Chakra surrounding her oldest child in a visible shroud.

The woman's eyes were wide as she stared at the boy, _'h-holy-'_ she didn't even get to finish her thought, before another large flare of Chakra caused her to turn her attention towards her daughter. Heiwa was also enshrouded in a large visible aura of Chakra, only- hers was white. Before the Sage was able to do much more than open her mouth, the Chakra faded away. Indra swayed slightly in exhaustion. Heiwa flinched as the energy fluctuated and several bones grew out of her body. Hagoromo opened her mouth to try and snap her daughter out of her meditation, however she suddenly gasped and cut off the Chakra, panting as she calmed herself from the energy high she had just experienced. "Are you two alright?" Hagoromo asked gently, looking from one child to the other.

Indra nodded, "yes, I am alright Kaa-Sama" he said. Heiwa was panting slightly, "I am alright as well, I only need to catch my breath" she explained. As the child sat up, she gasped at the pain in her back, "Ow! Ow! w-what, what is-" she gasped, and paused as she turned to look at her back. The red-haired girl's eyes widened when she saw the hard white bones protruding from her flesh. Heiwa's face showed her shock, and she began panting in exhaustion. Hagoromo quickly wrapped her child in a hug, _'Sennin-Sama, do you know how she retracts her bones?'_ she asked the previous sage mentally. _"I am afraid not, it is a technique that Kaguya originally possessed, and I am afraid that I do not know how to control it"_ he replied.

Heiwa clenched her fists in an attempt to hide her pain. The red-haired woman rubbed her child's lower back, as Indra stood up and walked over to his twin, taking her hand and rubbing the back of it in a comforting manner, "why do you not try focusing your Chakra away from your back sister?" the black-haired boy asked. The younger female Otsutsuki nodded and focused, closing her eyes and evening out her breathing once more. As she directed her Chakra further towards the rest of her body, the bones slowly retracted into Heiwa's back, straightening out and back into place, the skin and bones healing as they did so. The red-haired child was left panting in exhaustion. As she held her daughter, Hagoromo frowned. They would definitely need to get this ability of her daughters under control soon.

To Be Continued


	22. Chapter 22

Heiwa was training, practicing her new ability, Indra was meditating again, and Hagoromo and Tsukuyomi were 'spending some time together'. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Indra, who's room was closest to the front door, got up and went to see who it was. "I am coming" the boy called as the knocking continued. When he opened the door, the black-haired Otsutsuki saw a young woman who had long white hair, white eyes and pale skin. She had round eyebrows and wore a strange kimono. To his surprise, when the woman saw him, she smiled, "Indra-Kun, is that you?" she asked. Indra blinked, "yes, my name is Indra Otsutsuki, who are you?" he asked.

The woman frowned slightly, "You do not know who I am?" she asked. "No" the young Otsutsuki asked curiously. "Who is it Indra-Kun?" Hagoromo asked, walking up to the door. Her face brightened when she saw the younger woman, "Kagura Imouto!" she said happily. The red-haired woman walked up and wrapped her arms around the white-haired woman, "I missed you!" she cried with a beaming smile. Indra blinked, looking between the two women, "Kaa-Sama, who is this?" he asked. The two turned to face the boy, "I did tell you about my Imouto, Kagura-Chan, did I not Musuko?" Hagoromo asked.

The future Uchiha ancestor thought back, and remembered that he did indeed remember his mother mentioning her siblings, including her younger sister Kagura, who looked a lot like his Grandmother. Indra nodded, "hai, you did," he paused and turned to look at the white-haired woman, "you are my Auntie, Kagura-Oba-Sama" he said. After a few moments of just staring between the two, Indra smiled slightly, "it is nice to finally meet you" he said, bowing slightly in greeting, "I am sure Heiwa will be glad to meet you as well Oba-San" he told Kagura, before turning and stepping aside, "Kaa-Sama, Oba-Sama, would you like to enter first?" he asked. The white-haired, white eyed young woman smiled, "thank you, you are quite the gentleman, are you not Indra-Kun?" she asked, removing her sandals and entering her old house.

She had been away travelling for some time and had not seen it for a while. Indra entered behind the two women, "I would not say that, Kaa-Sama has simply raised me well" he replied, remembering the lessons on manners that his mother had taught himself and his twin. One of the first things Hagoromo had taught her son when he was old enough to understand, which in this case means 2 and a half, was manners, hoping that it would curb some of Indra's future arrogance and feelings of superiority. Kagura smiled, "that she has" she replied, looking at her older sister's back.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

After confirming that the house was almost exactly as she remembered it as they walked, Kagura followed Hagoromo into what appeared to be a sitting room. Kneeling on the floor, Hagoromo gestured for her younger sister to do the same. Once seated, the Sage placed two cups of tea and a pot on the table. "Tea?" she asked. Kagura nodded, "please". Hagoromo poured the tea when it was ready, and both women sipped their drinks calmly. "So, you look to be doing well Nee-Sama" Kagura stated. Hagoromo nodded, "you as well Imouto" "so you gave birth to twins- what do you intend to do now?" Kagura asked.

The red-haired woman tilted her head towards the ceiling, "I plan to travel the world with my children- this will have two purposes, one, I plan to repair the damage Hamura and I did to this land while fighting Kaa-Sama, and the other, I plan to teach people about the new way of life I have created, called Ninshu" she explained. Her younger sister tilted her head in curiosity, "Ninshu? What is that?" she asked. Hagoromo looked back at her sister, "it is something I came up with while my brother and I were travelling to the temple to train," she explained, which was true enough, "it is a way of forging connections with all people, bonds that cannot be broken- the true path to peace".

Kagura was wide eyed, "you came up with all that when you were only ten years of age Nee-Sama?" she asked in awe. The older woman nodded, "I came to realise, that without these bonds, people would never be able to understand each other, and without understanding, there could never be peace," she folded her hands together on the table in front of her, "this is what I wish to create" she finished. Her younger sister smiled slightly, "I see" she replied. "I plan to take Indra and Heiwa with me, to teach them as well, and I would like you and Tsukuyomi to stay here and perform a certain task for me" Hagoromo explained. Kagura nodded, "of course, I would be happy to do anything you need of me Nee-Sama" she replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

"W-what the hell!" Kagura's voice screamed. The two siblings, as well as Tsukuyomi were in the Tailed Beasts cave. Kurama shrinked behind his tails slightly in fear, **_"why is she yelling?"_** he asked nervously. "Kagura, please calm yourself, you are scaring them" Hagoromo replied calmly. The young woman turned towards her older sibling, "scaring _them!_ You are telling me that you created these things out of the Juubi's Chakra? The very same Juubi that almost wiped the map off the map!" she demanded incredulously. The red-haired Sage sighed, "yes I did, but they are not the same monster that we fought, they are innocent children, and I would prefer you not to treat them as such" she explained.

Kagura stared at her older sister, trying to see any hint of a smile or a joke, but saw nothing but seriousness. Her eyes widened, "you really mean it, you do see them as children" she said. Hagoromo sighed again, "this is exactly why I only told my husband before, since we were living together, and he saw me create them when the twins were born, but I knew everyone else would be prejudiced- however I never thought you of all people would think like this- as my younger sister, I thought you would at least be able to trust my judgment, if not my children" she said, not angry, but defeated.

Kagura frowned, "I have nothing against them personally, but how do you know that they will not turn against you- they are parts of the Juubi! The Juubi that rampaged across the land, that killed so many- that almost killed you!" she exclaimed. All the Tailed Beasts flinched at that. They had not known that- had not known that they had almost killed their mother when they were one being. The red-haired woman sighed in frustration, "yes, I know what the Juubi did, I fought against it if you had forgotten, however, look at them, they are not the Juubi, they are pure and kind and timid, and only now are they learning about humanity- do you really want one of the first things they learn to be hatred?" Hagoromo asked, frowning sadly as she turned to look at them.

"These Tailed Beasts are as responsible for what the Juubi did before, as we are for the things our mother did to the land and its people- they are no more responsible for that than I am for Kaa-Sama placing everyone under her technique, please, try to understand- do not fear and hate them for who they are like your old village feared and hated you for who you were" she stated. Kagura froze, eyes wide. Was it really the same? was it really wrong of her to hate these- creatures for what her mother did as it was for her village to hate her for her power? The woman sighed deeply and looked up at the Biju, really looked.

And suddenly it was like a veil had been lifted and she could _see_. Kagura could see the innocence and purity of these creatures, these children. They were not responsible for what their mother had done. They were just children, her sister's children, like Indra and Heiwa. She nodded, "alright Nee-Sama, I will accept that they are different from our mother, they really are your children now, huh?" she asked, with a small smile. Turning to the Biju, the white-haired woman bowed, "I hope that you can forgive me for my words and ignorance earlier, I can see that you are not the same as the Juubi, and are each your own people now, if you allowed it, I would like to make it up to you" she said. Gyuuki leaned down towards her, **_"it, is alright- Kaa-Sama has explained to us what her mother did before, and that if other people knew about us, they would not understand and be afraid- and I suppose it is understandable for such a thing to happen, after all- we are not exactly what you humans would call 'normal'"_** he replied.

The young woman nodded, "However, I would still like to try and make it up to you, so I will take care of you in Hagoromo's absence, I hope one day you will come to see me as an aunt, like Indra and Heiwa do" she replied. The Biju nodded, they would give this woman another chance, as she was their mother's sister after all, and she genuinely seems to want to prove herself. Hagoromo smiled, "thank you Kaguya," she said happily. Then she turned to her other children, "and now I must explain to you the reason she must take care of you all".

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Needless to say, all the Biju were quite worried with Hagoromo going away, but she explained to them that her husband and sister would take care of them and that calmed them down some. So now Hagoromo, Indra and Heiwa were packing their belongings for a long trip. **_"_** _Thank you for doing this"_ Sennin-Sama said. Bethany smiled, _'it is no problem at all, I would have done it anyway, besides, I am happy to'_ she replied. The male Sage bowed his head, though his female counterpart couldn't see that, _"I mean it, Ninshu was something I devoted my life to, and now you are doing it for me, I am truly grateful"_ he stated. Hagoromo also bowed her head, _'I am the one who is grateful- if it were not for you, I do not know how I would have gotten this far, although everyone else helped as well"_ she replied.

The sage smiled softly, _"you are welcome Bethany-Chan"_.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Once everything was ready, Hagoromo said a last goodbye to the Biju, making sure they knew that she would be back, and kissed her husband, "I will see you soon Tsukuyomi" she laid, looking lovingly up into his eyes. The black-haired man smiled, "I will wait for you" he replied. Then the group of three left to begin their journey to spread Ninshu to the world.

To Be Continued


	23. Chapter 23

Hagoromo, Indra and Heiwa walked down the road in silence. The two children were staring around at everything with wonder, having never left their home before now, other than to explore the forest. Hagoromo was simply enjoying the tranquillity around them. It was a beautiful day, especially for traveling. The sky was azure blue with a few fluffy white clouds dotted here and there. It was getting into summer now so the air was warm, but still cool from the previous winter, so the temperature was perfectly comfortable. The three Otsutsuki were all dressed similarly, with pure white robes and all their belongings sealed into storage seals that Hamura had left behind when he left on his own journey, being the first to decide to travel, with herself following his example months later.

As they walked, the small group came up to a broken bridge. _"Ah yes, I remember this well, so it has begun"_ the male Sage stated. Hagoromo didn't react outwardly to this, but she turned her attention to her son when he tugged on her sleeve, "Kaa-Sama, how are we going to get across?" Indra asked. The red-haired woman smiled, "I am going to fix this bridge, as it is beneficial for all who use it, not just us" she replied. Then the eldest Otsutsuki walked out onto the bridge and picked up a stone that was lying on it's surface and carried it over to the side of the path. Once she had placed it down, Hagoromo returned to the bridge and took one of the broken planks and carried it off as well. Suddenly a man came running out of a small shelter, "hey, hey, hey! What are you doing!?" he demanded to know. "I am fixing this bridge, so that everyone may use it, as well as the three of us" Hagoromo replied.

"Well, I use this bridge to make a living, so I need it to stay broken" the man explained. The red-haired woman raised an eyebrow, "oh, and what do you do for a living?" she asked. The man smirked and pointed to himself, "because the bridge is broken, everyone stops here, then I offer them a ride across on my boat, when they are distracted, I grab their belongings and make my getaway" he explained. "I see, so you are a thief who uses the fact that the bridge is broken to steal from others and take their hard earned and precious belongings" Hagoromo replied. Indra looked at his mother, "but you taught us that stealing is wrong Kaa-Sama, and that we should always help people when we can?" he asked, confused. The woman nodded, "that is right, you should always help others whenever possible, but I think this man has no other choice" she replied.

"However, this bridge is essential for people to make their living, as well as something I need to do to make up for the past, so if you would please excuse me" the red-haired woman said, and walked past the thief. "Why are you going to all that trouble?" the man asked. "I have to make up for what I caused in the past and the things that I did" Hagoromo spoke, mostly to herself. She walked up to a tree and tested it's strength by placing her hand on it and pushing. The bark stayed strong. "So are you a criminal or something?" the thief asked her. "Not a criminal, though I did cause much trouble for this land and it's people- this is my atonement" the Otsutsuki replied.

Indra and Heiwa looked at each other, wondering what that meant. Their mother didn't elaborate though and just continued her work. Just then a man came up to the bridge. He had a basket on his back and looked to be some kind of salesman, "oh, it looks like I will not be able to cross the bridge" he stated. The thief walked up to him and placed one hand on his shoulder, "mister, you seem to be in a bit of a bind. Leave it to me, I will take you to the other side of the river" he said. "Excuse me sir," the two turned to see Heiwa standing behind them, "that man told my Kaa-Sama that he was a thief and that he takes things from people" she said innocently.

The salesman jumped away from the thief, "why you, trying to take me for a fool!" he cried, before walking away angrily. The theif became angry, "hey you brats, you and your mother need to stop messing with my business!" he demanded, "is there a problem here?" the man turned around to find Hagoromo standing behind him, "I would appreciate it if you did not threaten my children" she said. The thief sat down with a huff and crossed his arms, "we are not going to leave until I fix this bridge, you should go find another bridge" the red-haired woman said.

"Do not be stupid, thieves like me have our own territory, I cannot just go somewhere else" he explained. Hagoromo pulled her hood back, showing her face, "well then, you could help me," she replied, "we will leave once the bridge is finished, and it will go faster if you help" "quit messing around" the thief replied, "alright then, you can wait until the bridge is fixed" the eldest Otsutsuki said, turning to continue what she was doing. The man watched in shock as Hagoromo knocked down trees with ease. "Damn it!" the man exclaimed, "fine, I will just get in her way" he said as he bent down and grabbed one of the trees and tried to drag it away.

However, the tree was too heavy for him to lift, "that bitch!" he muttered, "just where does that brute strength come from?" the man asked himself angrily.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

A few hours later Hagoromo had gathered several wooden logs and was just bringing over another when she collapsed to her knees with one hand on her stomach. _'Asura-Kun'_ she thought, panting, hoping all of this strain wasn't hurting her baby too much. Suddenly the tree began to move without her touching it. Looking up, she saw Indra and Heiwa lifting the tree together, "Kaa-Sama, you should be more careful with your condition- besides, we can help you, no one can do everything on their own, even someone like you" the boy said.

The red-haired woman stared at her two children for a moment, before she began to laugh- quietly at first, before the laughter became louder and louder. The twins stopped and stared at their mother, "ah, Kaa-Sama?" Heiwa asked unsure. Hagoromo continued to laugh, so much so that tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes, and she reached out and wrapped her arms around her two children, "yes, that is exactly right, never forget that, alright?" she asked happily. Indra and Heiwa nodded, "hai Kaa-Sama, we understand" the girl replied, "good, now, let us keep working, we have much to do" the Sage said happily, wiping her eyes. Hagoromo held her hands in front of herself.

Blue Yin Chakra lit up the area above her left hand while red Yang Chakra lit up her right. She slammed her palms together, "Banbutsu Sozo!" she exclaimed. A purple light flashed and when it cleared Hagoromo held two lengths of rope in her hands, "here, you can use these to help pull the trees" she explained.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

As the three Otsutsuki worked to gather logs, the thief sat in his tent, fanning himself with a piece of wood to try and keep out of the heat.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The winds blew the trees and the tent into a frenzy. The thief crawled out to look around. What he saw was Hagoromo cutting branches off one of the trees. The two children were chopping the smaller branches off the trunk. The man sighed and hung his head.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The rain poured from the sky and the water under the bridge became more turbulent. "Be careful Indra, Heiwa, this rain is strong!" the red-haired woman called. The thief came out of his tent and groaned, gripping his head. Suddenly Hagoromo stepped in a mud puddle and slipped. She fell to the ground, as her children ran up to her, "Kaa-Sama!" Indra cried, worried. "Hey! Get it together!" a voice from behind them called. The three turned to see the thief walking towards them carrying a log, "we have to work fast or the logs that you all went to great lengths to gather will get washed away" he stated.

Hagoromo stood up while the twins did the same, "oh, you are going to help us?" the woman asked. "I just want you all to go away as soon as possible, and once the bridge is finished I am going to destroy it!" The Otsutsuki turned to face the man, "my name is Hagoromo, these are my children, Indra and Heiwa" she introduced herself and her present family. The man smirked, "I am Futami" he replied. Hagoromo smiled, "it is nice to meet you Futami-San" she replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day the rain had cleared and the four were still working. Hagoromo stood on the bridge testing it's strength while Futami picked up another wooden log. Suddenly the brown-haired man was hit in the shoulder by a stone. He turned to see a young boy, a little older than Hagoromo's twins standing on top of the pile of logs they'd amassed. He was tossing a stone up and catching it in his hand again, "what are you doing?" he asked indigently. "Can you not tell?" Futami asked, "we are building a bridge" he explained. The boy caught the stone and pointed at the brown-haired man, "you are a thief right?" the boy asked, "doing that will not make all of the bad stuff that you did go away!" he exclaimed.

Futami became angry, "shut up! Get lost brat!" he yelled. The boy jumped down and ran off quickly. Hagoromo walked past, carrying a log under one arm, "well, it looks like we are the same now" she said, laughing slightly, while Indra and Heiwa came past dragging a log with two ropes tied around one end. Futami just grabbed the towel around his shoulders and dried his forehead. "I am not like you, I am not doing this for atonement- I mean it, once it is done I am going to destroy it!" he exclaimed, walking away.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The eldest Otsutsuki was carrying a log towards the bridge when she felt a kick from her womb. The woman gasped, and put the log down, "Indra, Heiwa, it is your little brother, he is kicking!" she called. The two children immediately came running up, "really Kaa-Sama?" Indra asked. When their mother nodded, Heiwa stepped closer, "can I feel him?" she asked. Hagoromo nodded, "of course you can, come feel" she replied. Both twins walked up and placed their hands on their mother's stomach. After waiting a moment, both gasped as all three felt a kick, "I felt him Kaa-Sama!" Indra cried excitedly. Futami looked on with a smile at the family as the two children talked excitedly about their baby brother.

"When he is born, what are you going to call him Kaa-Sama?" Heiwa asked. Indra nodded curiously. Hagoromo smiled, "I am going to call him Asura" she proclaimed, rubbing her stomach tenderly. The two children stood up, "alright, you sit here and rest, so that Asura Otouto stays healthy, and we will help Futami-San with the bridge" Indra decided. Hagoromo frowned, "are you sure?" she asked. Heiwa nodded, "hai it would be better if you rested a bit, all this work is not good for the baby" she explained. The red-haired woman laughed, "alright, I will rest, but only for a short while, this is my atonement after all" she replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Later on in the day as it was getting close to sunset, the group of four were working again, while multiple people from the nearby village watched from the trees.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day the two adults and two children were looking at the bridge. "All that work and we are only one-third of the way done" Futami sighed while whipping the sweat from the side of his face with his towel. "Breaking a bridge is easy, it is building it back again that is hard" Hagoromo stated, while Futami ran forwards and tested its strength, "something this sturdy will not be easy to break" he stated. Hagoromo walked forwards, "that is true, if we make it too sturdy- you will break you bones for sure when you try to destroy it" she said, turning and walking back.

The man smiled slightly, before he saw something and ran over to where they put the logs they had made until they used them. A bunch of the villagers were standing around the pile and picking them up, "hey you, do not touch those logs!" Futami called "we are using them to fix the bridge!" he exclaimed. The man who picked one of the logs up turned to face the man, "we will help you" he replied. "Huh?" the thief asked. One of the men helping to carry logs replied, "since we are going to be the ones using the bridge" he said.

One of the children who was helping accidentally knocked over a pile of logs. Futami walked towards him, "hey, you have to be careful, just grab a smaller one" he said. The boy nodded, "okay". Futami smiled, as Hagoromo walked past also with a smile on her face.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

A few days later the bridge was almost finished. Everyone had worked very hard to build it, even the children. Something that made Hagoromo very happy was seeing how well the twins got along with the other children. They were the first children they had met, as the small group had mostly been travelling through the forests, and had not met many other people aside from merchants and such along the way. Later that day the final piece of wood was nailed in, as the villagers had brought their own supplies with them when they'd come to help, and had also reinforced the rest of the bridge as well.

"We did it!" Futami shouted, as everyone cheered and the children ran along the bridge, "this is awesome!" one little boy cheered. Hagoromo, Indra and Heiwa walked along the bridge watching the people talking and cheering, and the children playing. The red-haired woman smiled. As she walked up to Futami she began speaking, "so it is finally finished, what do you intend to do now? Are you still going to tear it down?" she asked. "Are you kidding me!? After all the work we put into it, there is no way I would destroy it!" Futami exclaimed.

The woman began to laugh, before she smiled, "you did a good thing, and I would be happy to call you my friend Futami" she said. The man looked shocked, "but I am just a thief" he said. But the red-haired woman shook her head, "I do not think you are anymore- after all, with all these people around and the fact that they are distracted by the new bridge, you could have easily robbed one of them and run, am I right?" she asked. The man blushed, "ah, w-well, what makes you think I'd want to rob any of those people, none of them are worth it and-" he was cut off when Hagoromo smiled again, "Futami-San" she said knowingly.

The former thief rolled his eyes, "oh alright, I decided to retire, are you happy now?" he asked. The woman nodded her head, "well it is time for us to move on, take care of yourself Futami" she said then turned to where her children were playing, "come Indra, Heiwa, it is time to go!" she called. The two children obediently said goodbye to the others they were playing with and walked over their mother's side. Hagoromo nodded, then walked away, the twins following her. Futami stared after them for a moment, before running to catch up to them three, "hey, wait up!" he called. The Sage stopped, and her children turned to look at the man curiously, "I am coming with you" he said.

"Oh?" the woman asked, "I thought that bridge was where you lived" she stated. Futami rubbed the back of his head, "with an awesome bridge like that, I would be out of business anyway" he replied with a smile. Hagoromo smiled again, "alright, you can come with me, I would be glad for some adult company while these two are asleep" she replied.

To Be Continued


	24. Chapter 24

That night the Otsutsuki's and Futami had made camp in the forest around a fire. Indra and Heiwa were fast asleep in their sleeping bags. The two adults were awake and sitting around the fire. Heiwa mumbled something in her sleep and turned to face her mother, while a lock of hair fell into her face. Hagoromo smiled tenderly and moved the hair behind the girl's ear, so that it didn't disturb her sleep. Futami smiled, "cute kids" he said. The red-haired woman looked over at her new companion, "yes, they are very cute, but I think that they will be the kind of children that get less cute over time unfortunately" she replied, giggling quietly at her own joke.

She then closed her eyes and placed one hand on her stomach, "when you do a good deed, people are grateful and it is a good feeling. And because it makes you feel good inside, you do more good things for other people, who in turn want to help others like they were helped- it is a cycle that helps everyone, and I believe all people have the potential to be good" she said, opening her eyes and rubbing her pregnant stomach. "When you put it that way, you are right- but what about all the other people who are bad?" Futami asked. Hagoromo smiled slightly, "just as all people have the potential to be good, everyone has the potential for evil- it depends on the person, and how much they care, if they care enough about someone, or something, they may be able to override the evil- the same is true of good, it is all about balance" she explained.

Futami looked into the fire for a moment, before he remembered something and looked back up at his friend, "by the way, I did not ask you before but- who are you anyway?" he asked. Hagoromo sighed, "I am a Sage, graduated from the fire temple of my old land, my title is the Sage of the Six Paths and my greatest desire is to bring peace to this world- however, just because I am a sage that does not mean I am free of guilt- I once wreaked havoc and destruction on this world." She paused and clenched her fist slightly. Futami stood up, "several years ago there were many occurrences of giant Tsunami's, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes here and there. Do not tell me that you caused them?" he asked.

"My twin brother and I were fighting our mother, who was unbelievably powerful and had gone insane, as well as an incarnation of the Divine Tree known as the Juubi, we destroyed and killed so much in our battle- but we had no other choice" the woman closed her eyes. "I believe that if people can understand one another, then peace can be achieved, but I still must be careful, or my good intentions will end up causing much more destruction" she spoke, seemingly to herself. Futami looked confused, "what?" he asked. The red-haired woman looked up at the man, "can I trust you?" she asked seriously. Futami looked taken aback, before his face became serious, "I may be a former thief, but even among my kind, once trust is formed it is hard to break- most people may think that thieves are only out for themselves, but that is not true- in reality, we have to trust people, otherwise we would just get caught as quickly as we rob someone, without being able to trust our fellows, we would not be able to survive" he explained.

Hagoromo stared at the man for a moment, but in reality, she was talking to Sennin-Sama, _'what do you think?'_ she asked. _"Futami became a very good friend of mine over the years, I believe that you can trust him, after all, people only began to use Chakra to fight after Indra came up with it"_ he explained. _'Alright then, I will trust your judgement'_ she thought back. The red-haired woman held out her hand, "give me your hand for a moment" she said. Futami placed his hand in hers and suddenly felt power rush into him. His eyes widened as she let go, "what is this? I suddenly feel power rushing into me?" he asked, amazed. "I have given you my power, that I call Chakra, now you are like us" Hagoromo explained, gesturing to her children. "With this you can feel other people's emotions and tell what they are thinking in a way, a special bond has now been created between us, though I have given this power to you because I feel that I can trust you, you have a good heart and a caring soul, and you are a good person" she said.

Futami closed his eyes, and got down on his knees, "please make me your apprentice?!" he asked. Hagoromo frowned, "apprentice?" she asked. "All my life I have been a worthless nobody, when I was young my parents would tell me that I would never amount to anything and that I was no one- so I ran away from home, determined to prove them wrong- however, I became a thief instead, causing trouble for others and taking things that did not belong to me- but now I feel like I have a chance to change, to become someone, someone that can help people and do good things like you- when we built that bridge, seeing all of those people laughing and happy, because of something that I was a part of- I have never been prouder of myself in my entire life, I will never forget the looks on their faces, or how it reminded me of how I just wanted to be useful to others when I was a child," he paused.

"All those days that we worked together to build that bridge, I could feel the joy that everyone else felt as we were getting closer to finishing it- I am positive that that is part of the bond you spoke of, and now I want to help you on your journey, to give meaning to my life- so please teach me" he begged. Hagoromo smiled softly, "of course, I would be happy to, and you do not have to think of me as your teacher, but rather as a friend who is helping you because she wants to" she replied. Futami nodded, "alright" he replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

A few days later the small group came up to another broken bridge. Another thief came out of the bushes, "hello there, do you people need- hey, what are you doing here!" the man demanded to know, pointing angrily at Futami. Heiwa looked up her mother, "Kaa-Sama, why is it the same as before?" she asked. Hagoromo laughed slightly, "I do not know, but would you like to start? I think I have to sit down" she replied. Heiwa and Indra nodded enthusiastically and walked out onto the destroyed bridge to begin clearing the debris away.

"Hey, what are you doing? I need that bridge to be broken!" the other thief demanded. Futami walked over and put a hand on the man's shoulder, "let us talk for a moment" he said, leading the man away.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

After another few weeks of fixing the second bridge with everyone's help, the group of now five left and continued walking. By now it was getting hard for Hagoromo to walk for more than a few hours at a time. Thankfully everyone understood and let the woman rest. However, Hagoromo felt like she was not doing her fair share. It was partly her fault that the land was so messed up, and here she was, just sitting around doing nothing while everyone else worked to fix her mistakes. The woman knew that Asura would be coming any day now, but she just felt like a burden- at least she actually helped the first time, but now she was not doing anything. By this time, the second former thief, whose name she discovered was Kaito had decided to join them and change as well.

As the five people continued on their way, Hagoromo was panting heavily. She finally slowed to a stop with her hands holding up her stomach, "p-please wait a moment" she asked. The four other people stopped and turned around. Indra and Heiwa gasped and ran up to her, "Kaa-Sama, what is the matter? Are you alright?" Indra asked worriedly. "Y-yes, I-" she started but was cut off when pain suddenly wracked her body, "nnngh!" the woman cringed and suddenly a fluid fell out of her and onto the ground. "Kaa-Sama, what is that?" Heiwa asked as the adults now rushed up the woman, "I think- I think the baby is coming, Asura is coming!" she cried. The men's eyes widened in shock, "what!?" they yelled together.

Hagoromo glared up at them, "the baby is coming you imbeciles, now are you just going, to stand there like a couple of statues *pant* or are you going to get your asses over here and help me!" she exclaimed. Everyone was shocked by the words that had just come out of the red-haired woman's mouth, and they just stared at her for a moment. Futami himself also just stared at his friend, _'it is as if she were an entirely different person- I guess pregnancy hormones mixed with the pain of childbirth can make even Hagoromo turn into a scary person'_ he thought, remembering what some of the pregnant women were like back in his old hometown before he ran away. Futami and Kaito ran over to the women and picked her up as gently as possible, "we need to find somewhere at least relatively clean for her to have the baby, otherwise both of them might get sick" Futami said, frantically looking around.

Despite how much pain she was in, Hagoromo was able to use her emotion sensing to find other people. She pointed weakly, "th-there is *gasp* a person over their- T-twenty meters" she managed to get out, before moaning in pain again. The two men carried the women who had changed them in the direction she'd pointed, while the twins hurried along behind them. As they came out of the tree's, they saw a small house with a large hole in the roof, with an old woman sitting out the front on a chair. Seeing this, Indra and Heiwa immediately ran up to the woman, "please help us, our Kaa-Sama is having her baby!" Heiwa exclaimed. The elderly woman looked up sharply at those words. As soon as she saw the moaning pregnant woman, being carried by two men, she beckoned them over, "well hurry up then, come inside!" she demanded.

Once everyone was inside the house the old woman walked over to her bed, "put her down here" she ordered. Futami and Kaito laid her down on the bed as Hagoromo screamed, "now prop her up, it will be easier for her to push the baby out" the woman said. The two men did as they were told. The woman turned to the twins, "she is your mother?" she asked. Both nodded at the same time. "Alright, take this bowl and go get some clean water from the pump" she instructed, handing Heiwa a wooden bowl. The two children nodded and ran outside, wanting to help their mother be okay. Futami, who had had grown to be close friends with the red-haired woman bent over her worriedly, "Hagoromo, are you alright?" he asked softly. The eldest Otsutsuki panted, "I have, b-been better, ggrrn!" she clenched her eyes shut tightly as another contraction went through her body.

It was then that Indra and Heiwa came back in with the water, "Kaa-Sama, we have got water for you" Indra said. The elderly woman nodded, "good, now put in down near her, so we can get to it easily". Indra nodded and placed the bowl down. Hagoromo suddenly cried out, "aaahhhhh! Hagnnn, huh, huh, hunnnnna!" she panted and gasped. The woman knelt down in front of the red-head's spread legs, "alright, it is almost here, push!" she ordered. The eldest Otsutsuki pushed as hard as she could, then stopped when she couldn't anymore. She began panting more, "push!" the old woman said. Once again Hagoromo pushed as hard as she could, clenching her fists around handfuls of the woman's bed sheets, "once more now, come on, you have already had two children, so push!" the old lady demanded.

Hagoromo focused all her strength into pushing out the baby, _'come on Asura, you can do it!'_ she thought. Suddenly a cry broke through the tense atmosphere. The red-haired woman collapsed onto the bed, trying to draw some air into her lungs, while the still unnamed old woman cleaned the baby boy off then wrapped him in a blanket, "here you go, say hello to your son Hagoromo-San" she said. The woman handed the black-haired baby to his mother. Hagoromo held her second son in her arms and smiled tiredly, "Asura, I am so happy that I finally get to meet you" she said weakly. "Alright, you get some rest, we can handle things for now" Kaito said as the old woman took the baby back. Hagoromo nodded slightly, before succumbing to exhaustion.

To Be Continued


	25. Chapter 25

Meanwhile, back at the Otsutsuki Clan house, the Biju were discussing amongst themselves what had happened since their Mother and human siblings had left. **_"It has been almost nine months since Kaa-Sama left"_** Kurama stated. Chomei nodded, **_"it has, I wonder how she, Indra and Heiwa are doing right now"_** the giant seven tailed insect replied. **_"Kaa-Sama was pregnant when she left, was she not?"_** Saiken asked his brothers and sisters. Matatabi nodded, **_"hai, she was, and going by what Tou-Sama explained to us, human pregnancy cycles are around nine months or less, is that not correct?"_** the two tailed feline asked. Everyone was silent for a moment, before Shukaku began bouncing excitedly, though not actually leaving the ground, as that would most likely cause earthquakes with the Biju's weight, **_"oh! Oh! Then that means that we have another sibling! Do you think he or she will like us?"_** the Tanuki asked.

Gyuuki sighed, **_"well, I hope they will treat us better when they first meet us than Oba-Sama did"_** he stated. Matatabi turned to her brother, **_"oh come now, you are not still holding a grudge against Oba-Sama after all this time, are you? You remember what she said when she first met us? She was only wary of us, because of what we did when we were whole- and now she has come to accept us"_** she explained patiently. The large half ox, half octopus rolled his eyes, **_"that is true, but it still took long enough for her to see us as people, do you remember what happened just after Kaa-Sama left?"_** he asked. Kurama groaned, **_"how could we forget-"_**

 _*Flashback*_

 **** _It had only been a few weeks since Hagoromo had left home with Indra and Heiwa. The Biju were board. Tsukuyomi had spent a good few hours with them, telling them stories about their mother and her twin brother. However, the man had been called away after that. With the Otsutsuki twins gone, the silver-haired man and Kagura had taken over their job of keeping the peace in the area and taking care of disputes. This particular crisis called for Hagoromo's husband to have to go and solve it, before things got out of hand._

 _So now the nine beings that had been created from their mothers and the Juubi's Chakra were board. There was nothing to do in this cave except sit around and talk. And that could defiantly get boring after a while. So despite it only having been a single day, the Tailed Beasts were at a loss for what to do. Suddenly the Biju heard footsteps enter the cave. The siblings looked over curiously towards the entrance to what was pretty much their home at the moment. When they saw Kagura walk into their line of sight, a few of them frowned. The younger sister of their mother had seemingly changed from hating them to accepting them on the day that she'd first met them, but not all of them were sure of the young woman's 'change in demeanor'._

 _Kagura smiled up at them, "hello!" she said cheerfully. Matatabi decided to reply since she seemed to be the calmest out of the group,_ _ **"hello Kagura Oba-Sama, how has your day been?"**_ _she asked, unsure of the woman's intentions. Kurama especially was getting some uncomfortable feelings from the white-haired woman. He wasn't sure what they were yet, but they felt- dark. "Oh, my day has been fine so far, but tell me, you must all be board being stuck in this cave all day- and now you do not even have Nee-Sama or Nii-Sama to talk to" Kagura stated. Chomei decided to answer this time,_ _ **"well, it has been a little boring, it is true, but we can find things to amuse and entertain ourselves with, I am sure"**_ _he replied. Kagura's smile widened slightly, "oh, I know something that you can do, that is very fun" she stated._

 _Shukaku perked up at that,_ _ **"really? What? What? Tell us Oba-Sama!"**_ _he cried enthusiastically. "Well, I am sure that you must all know what is outside this cave, do you not?" the young woman asked. Saiken shook his head,_ _ **"no, Kaa-Sama has told us not to leave this cave, as people will not understand who and what we are and will be afraid of us"**_ _the six tailed slug said. "Well I happen to know that there are a lot of people who would be glad to meet you all- and might even wish to become your friends" the Byakugan using young woman told them._

 _Kurama's eyes widened slightly,_ _ **"there are people outside who want to be our friends?"**_ _he asked curiously. Why had Kaa-Sama not told them this?_ _ **"if that is true, why did Kaa-Sama not tell us this, instead warning us away from the outside world?"**_ _the Nine-Tailed fox asked his aunt- something was off about this, but surely he could trust the younger sister of his own mother- right? "That was because they did not know of you yet, but as she left, your Kaa-Sama asked me to tell you that she had let everyone know and that when she was gone, that you could have free reign of our property" Kagura explained, with a strange look in her eye._

 _The young Biju looked at each other. Had their mother really said that? Gyuuki leaned down closer to the white-haired woman, and Kagura had to force herself not to show any signs of nervousness._ _ **"Are you sure about this?"**_ _he asked. The youngest of the Otsutsuki siblings nodded, "of course, I remember it perfectly, that is most defiantly what she said" she replied with a straight face. Chomei became excited,_ _ **"if Kaa-Sama did let everyone know about us and they are all alright with it, then why should we not go and explore- I for one am itching to try out my wings!"**_ _he exclaimed. Isobu nodded,_ _ **"a swim would be nice"**_ _he stated. Matatabi stretched and yawned,_ _ **"I would prefer a nice cat-nap in the sun"**_ _she said. All the Biju nodded to each other, except for Kurama. He was still getting an off feeling about Kagura._

 _As each of them stood up and walked towards the entrance to the cave, he called out to them,_ _ **"hey, maybe you ought to decrease in size first- from what Kaa-Sama said, the last giant creature that these people saw was the Juubi, and they might be afraid of us if they saw us in our large forms"**_ _the fox called. Everyone nodded and shrunk until they were the size of regular house cats, not that they knew what those were. Then the group left the cave and dispersed to do their own thing. As she watched them go, Kagura smirked. Goodbye Ten Tails spawn. After they had all left, the woman walked away, not at all bothered by what she had just done._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Shukaku wandered through the forest, leaving a trail of sand behind him so that he could find his way back later. The Ichibi was curious about the forest that his mother spent so much time in. As he walked, the Tanuki watched all the animals and birds run and fly around. Soon enough he saw some regular Raccoons playing with each other. The Biju smiled,_ _ **"that seems like fun"**_ _he said to himself, before running to catch up with them._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Matatabi had just found the perfect place for a cat nap. It was a large rock in the sun, however, also partly shaded by some trees. Therefore, it was not too cold and not too hot. She sighed as she stretched luxuriously and sighed,_ _ **"now this is comfortable"**_ _she spoke to herself as she closed her eyes._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Isobu had discovered a large pond in the forest and he dived down into the depths. He was very thankful to Kagura for suggesting this idea._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Son Goku swung from tree to tree, finally jumping up into the tree tops and just staring at the view that me t his eyes,_ _ **"wow, Kaa-Sama lives here? I need to get out more"**_ _he said to himself._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Kokuo was enjoying herself immensely as she ran through the fields, mostly going unnoticed due to her small size._ _ **"I have found a new joy in life- running like this is incredible!"**_ _she spoke to herself as she let the wind whip past her._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Saiken was just relaxing out in the forest. He was not that into action after all._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Chomei was flying through the air high in the sky. This was amazing!_ _ **"I should do this more often!"**_ _he cried in ecstasy._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Gyuuki was simply enjoying the peace and quiet of the forest. He did not mind his siblings, but sometimes they could be a little overwhelming, you know?_

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Kurama was trying to enjoy the silence and sleep, but a strange feeling kept nagging at him. He sat up. The large fox scrunched his eyes up, trying to discern the feeling. His eyes widened when he realized that it was the same feeling that he had gotten from Kagura. He could still feel it. He was uncertain what exactly this feeling was, but he knew that it was not good. Sitting up, Kurama decided to follow the strange feeling and find out just what his aunt was up too._

 _Stretching as he stood, the Kyuubi set off to follow the white-haired woman. But not before remembering the words he'd said to his siblings and shrinking to the size of what he assumed a regular fox was. Then he began following Kagura._

 _To Be Continued_


	26. Chapter 26

_*Flashback continued*_

 _Kurama, in small form, followed the trail of his aunts darkness into the house where she lived with his mother and her children. As he wondered through the halls, the Kyuubi couldn't help but marvel at the simple yet elegant design._ _ **'hm, I wonder if Kaa-Sama would let us visit her in her house in our small forms when she gets back?'**_ _he wondered silently to himself. Soon he reached a door that the dark emotions seemed to be coming from. The fox pressed his ear to the wood and listened. "I still cannot believe Nee-Sama would create beings out of the Juubi, I mean that is just asking for trouble. As soon as they all go insane, they would use their power to destroy us all! Children, as if! But everyone will thank me when I get rid of them before they could become dangers to all of us- once everyone else finds them, those 'Biju' will be captured and then they will never be able to hurt anyone ever again!" Kagura spoke to herself._

 _Kurama was shocked. Even after what their mother told her, and what she said, the woman still did not trust them?! What's more, she was willing to allow them to get captured just because they were once the Juubi! The fox began to get angry, but forced it aside. Now was not the time. He had to save his siblings! He could tell Kaa-Sama when she came home and she would decide what to do with the woman. After all she was her older sister. But now he had a family to save. He had to warn them! The fox quickly jumped out a nearby window and ran after his siblings, he had to locate them all quickly before they were found by the other humans!_

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _After about half an hour of fruitless searching, Kurama was getting close to giving up. The fox kit had no idea how to find his Siblings, or where they went. He suddenly remembered something his mother had told him and his siblings shortly before she left: "even though you have been separated, you shall always be together". Kurama's eyes widened. That meant that they all had some kind of connection with each other. Now he just had to figure out how to use this connection to either find his siblings or warn them about the danger._

 _Well, he had seen his mother meditate before, perhaps that would help. So, sitting down in a quiet place free of human presences, Kurama Focused his breathing like he had seen Hagoromo do. He waited several minutes, feeling himself relax. Suddenly, he felt like he was floating for a moment, before his paws touched ground again. Opening his eyes slowly, the small nine-tailed fox found himself in a white space. Looking down, Kurama saw a huge pool of water beneath him and stretching as far as the eye could see._ _ **"Hey! What is going on here?!"**_ _a slightly squeaky voice demanded. Looking up, the young Tailed-Beast first saw Shukaku, the youngest of his Biju siblings. Looking around, he found that the others were all sitting around in a circle._

 ** _"Kurama, where are we?"_** _Kokuo asked, stamping her hooves in slight agitation. She had no idea what was going on._ _ **"Everyone, you must listen to me- Kagura has tricked us"**_ _he explained. Everyone looked at each other and him. It was Matatabi that spoke up first,_ _ **"are you sure Kurama? She is Kaa-Sama's sister, I do not think that she would do something so, so-"**_ _the blue flaming cat paused, unable to think of the right word. Well, they_ _had_ _only been created six years ago and had never left their cave. Kurama shook his head,_ _ **"I heard her talking to herself- she wanted us to leave the cave because most of the humans would fear us due to the actions of the Juubi and try to capture us!"**_ _he exclaimed. The Biju gasped, staring at the Kyuubi,_ _ **"are you sure?"**_ _Matatabi asked._

 _The fox nodded,_ _ **"I am"**_ _. Everyone looked at each other, then back at Kurama,_ _ **"then what do we do?"**_ _Isobu asked, worried. The Nine-Tails nodded,_ _ **"I have a plan"**_ _._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Kagura was currently sitting in her bedroom deep in thought. She wouldn't normally be spending so much energy on this, but she could not get the Biju out of her head. The white-haired woman was getting increasingly annoyed, why can't she stop thinking about them. Kagura groaned in frustration and fell back onto her bed. She closed her eyes, trying to think of something else. Suddenly a memory flashed into her mind's eye. It was of when her older sister had first introduced her to the Tailed Beasts. It was just before she left home and was saying goodbye to them._

 _Hagoromo had looked at each of the Biju with a smile, and a strange look in her eyes. But now that she thought about it, the look wasn't_ _ **that**_ _strange. Kagura had often seen it when her elder sister had looked at herself and Hamura when they were children, then again whenever she looked at Indra, Heiwa or her pregnant stomach. It was love. Pure tender love. Her sister would never look at a monster like that. Especially one like the Juubi that had killed so many. Hagoromo had called the Biju_ _ **children**_ _. Her children. And she loved them just like she loved her human ones._

 _If they really were children- Kagura's eyes widened, then she had just sent them out to be captured and who knew what else. The young woman stood up quickly. She had to find them and bring them back home before anything happened!_

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Shukaku, after hearing the plan, hurried along as fast as he could through the forest. He had a special job from his oldest brother. Since both he and Saiken were the slowest of the Biju, he was going to find the Six-Tails and help protect him. His sand was the best protection for the two of them. The shrunken Sand Tanuki looked around as he went. He could feel his brothers Chakra nearby. As he got back to the cave, the Ichibi looked around. Saiken should be around here somewhere._ _ **"Saiken? Where are you?!"**_ _he called._

 _Hearing a sound from behind him, Shukaku turned around._ _ **"There you are"**_ _he stated. The Six Tailed Slug ambled up to his younger brother,_ _ **"Kurama wants us to stay together so that I can protect you and you do not have to harm any humans"**_ _he explained. Saiken nodded,_ _ **"alright"**_ _he replied. The two then began on their way to where they had decided to meet up._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Chomei landed at the bottom of a giant cluster of mountains. This was what used to be known as the Peak Of Demise. However since Hagoromo and Hamura had fought with their mother and the Ten Tails, it was now just a circle of mountains. Still, many people never went there, so it was perfect for their needs. The Seven Tails sat and waited for his siblings. He hoped that it wouldn't take too long for everyone to get their._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _A short while later found the majority of the young Biju sitting and waiting in the center of where the Divine Tree once stood. The only ones not their yet were Shukaku and Saiken, due to their lack of speed obviously. Kurama looked around_ _ **"did everyone make it here alright?"**_ _he asked. Matatabi nodded,_ _ **"we all did, but what about Shukaku and Saiken, where are the two of them?"**_ _she asked. The young fox Biju tilted his head slightly,_ _ **"they must still be coming, they are not very fast after all"**_ _he stated. Kokuo frowned,_ _ **"how did you talk to us all before, you were nowhere near us?"**_ _she asked._

 ** _"I remembered Kaa-Sama telling us that even when we would always be connected even when we were apart, so I decided to meditate to figure out how I could use that connection to either find you all, or at least warn you"_** _Kurama explained._ _ **"So we wait?"**_ _Chomei asked. Gyuuki nodded,_ _ **"it seems like we will have to for now"**_ _he replied._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Shukaku and Saiken came up to a large sheer cliff wall. The sandy Tanuki stared up at it, then turned to his older brother,_ _ **"what do we do now Sai?"**_ _he asked. Saiken turned to look quizzically at his younger brother,_ _ **"Sai?"**_ _he asked. Shukaku shrugged,_ _ **"well, Saiken is just a little hard to say, and Sai sounds cool, do you not think so brother?"**_ _he asked. The six tails blushed and looked forwards,_ _ **"y-yeah, sure"**_ _he replied, then placed his hands onto the cliff,_ _ **"w-well, let us hurry now"**_ _he said. Concentrating, the Gobi (Six Tails) focused Chakra into his hands, like he had learned to do a while ago._

 _Where his hands touched the cliff, the rock began to melt away from his acidic slime._ _ **"Alright, let us keep moving brother, the sooner we get to where the others are, the sooner we can relax"**_ _Saiken said. As the two entered the cave that the slug was creating, they never noticed the multiple figures hidden within the shadows of the trees._

To Be Continued


	27. Chapter 27

_*Flashback continued*_

 _Shukaku was following his brother through the tunnel he was creating. As he looked around, he saw nothing but rock. The young Biju shivered, inching closer to his older brother. Something about the walls being so close to him really freaked him out. Not only was their nowhere to go, at least, not until Sai made one- there was hardly any room, and it was really dark too. He could see in the dark, as his Kaa-Sama had explained was one of his abilities, but that just seemed to make it worse, as he could see just how little room there was to move in here._

 _Finally he could stand the silence no longer,_ _ **"hey Sai, how much further until we are out of this cliff?"**_ _the sand racoon asked. Saiken paused,_ _ **"um- I am sure it is not too much longer brother, after all, it has to end sometime, right?"**_ _he asked nervously. Shukaku twitched, but_ _tried_ _to stay cheerful and positive,_ _ **"well, a-at least it is faster than trying to climb up the cliff, do you not agree Sai?"**_ _he asked in a strained voice. The Six-Tailed slug gulped slightly but nodded- not that Shukaku could see him. Suddenly he had an idea,_ _ **"hey! Why do we not play a game to pass the time?"**_ _he asked. Shukaku tilted his head slightly,_ _ **"game?"**_ _he asked, curiously._

 ** _"Yeah! I pick something starting with a specific letter, and you have to guess what it is! We'll call it- um, Ispy!"_** _Saiken exclaimed excitedly. Before his younger brother could reply, the Six-Tailed slug began,_ _ **"okay, I spy something beginning with- D!"**_ _Shukaku sweat-dropped, though his brother couldn't see it,_ _ **"dark?"**_ _he suggested. Sai gasped,_ _ **"you got it! okay, I spy something beginning with R"**_ _ **"rock"**_ _Shukaku said in a deadpan voice. Saiken grinned in the dark,_ _ **"you are good at this brother! I spy something beginning with- S!"**_ _ **"Shukaku"**_ _he stated his own name in a board tone of voice._ _ **"Good job, how about-"**_ _the Ichibi tuned him out_ _ **'*sigh* this is going to be a long walk'**_ _he thought to himself._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _A ways behind the two Biju, the humans from before followed them through the tunnel._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _As the other seven Biju waited for their brothers, Kurama suddenly heard a sound. He tilted his ear a little,_ _ **"everyone, shush!"**_ _he hissed. The others instantly quieted. A rustling sound caught everyone's attention, and they turned towards a bush that had grown in the six years since the Shinju Tree had 'vacated' the area. Suddenly, Kagura came into sight, panting heavily. The Tailed Beasts frowned when the woman appeared._

 ** _"you! What do you want?!"_** _Kokuo demanded, angered and on defense. Kagura's eyes widened and she held up her hands quickly, "p-please, wait! I did not come here to hurt or deceive you! I have realized that my view of all of you is wrong, and I honestly want to try and help you now- please, believe me, I know that you have little reason to trust my words, especially after I tricked you before and tried to get you captured," she paused, and appeared genuinely regretful. Kurama frowned,_ _ **"why should we trust you?"**_ _he asked._

 _"Because at the moment, I am the only one you can trust" she replied. The Biju looked at each other. "Please, I know that I cannot understand you fully, but I want to try to, after all- that is what my sister wants, is it not? To help people understand each other?" Kagura asked. Most of the Tailed Beasts looked unsure, however, Kurama closed his eyes,_ _ **"yes, it is, which is why I am going to try something that I never have before- stay still please Oba-Sama"**_ _he said, opening his eyes. The white-haired young woman frowned, but she gasped when the young fox Biju leapt at her suddenly._

 _To everyone's surprise (except for Kurama himself of course) the young Kyuubi jumped_ _ **into**_ _his Aunt's body._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Kagura slowly opened her eyes, however what she saw made her eyes go wide in shock. She was standing on a seemingly endless expanse of clear blue water. Looking around she first saw Kurama sitting behind her. "Hey, what is going on, um-?" she paused._ _ **"My name is Kurama Oba-Sama"**_ _the Kyuubi replied. "Ah, yes, I am sorry Kurama, but- where are we?" she asked._ _ **"This is a shared Mindscape between all of us Biju, as well as Kaa-Sama when she wants to contact us, and as it appears, who ever we are inside of also"**_ _he explained. Kagura's eyes widened, "that is right, how did you do that, and what did you do Kurama?!" she asked in slight hysteria._

 ** _"Ah, well,"_** _the giant young fox reached up and scratched the back of his head with one claw, and the white-haired young woman blinked, because it was just such a_ _ **human**_ _thing to do._ _ **"I**_ _ **kind of, well- jumped inside you? It is difficult to explain, but I connected myself to you, as we are all connected- you should be able to feel our emotions and in some ways our memories if you concentrate hard enough"**_ _Kurama said. Kagura raised an eyebrow, but closed her eyes, and focused on Kurama. Suddenly, an image appeared in her mind. It was just for a moment, but she saw it. Frowning, Kagura focused harder and suddenly she was blinking her eyes. Her sight was blurry for some reason. Looking down, she saw her paws- wait, what? She had furry orange paws with long claws on the ends of them._

 _Kagura then found herself lifting her head and looking up. A small figure was standing before her. Her eyes widened. It was her elder sister! Hagoromo stood before her somehow larger body. The red-haired Sage beckoned to her, and she found herself leaning down towards the woman. Hagoromo Otsutsuki reached up and placed her hand on her nose, "and your name shall be Kurama, I am so happy to meet you my son" she said, stroking her fur. Kagura now had an idea what was going on. This was Kurama's first memory of a human, and it was of her sister. Looking into the red-head's eyes, Kagura could see the pure and powerful love held within her powerful Rinnegan. Even more surprising was just how much love she could feel coming from Hagoromo and in Kurama's own heart._

 _Suddenly the memory changed. All the Biju were sitting in a circle around their mother, herself right in front of the woman, "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuuki, Kurama, you have all been created by me and are my children, from this day on, I will care for you, love you, protect you and teach you until the day comes when you no longer need my protection and care, I hope that we will all be able to live together as one family" Kagura could feel Kurama's love for her sister. It was so strong, but at the same time, fragile. As the scene changed, she could feel another emotion. Terror. So much pure terror, from all the Biju. They were so afraid and fragile. So much like how children would be afraid of an angry adult stranger. Suddenly the memories stopped. Kagura's eyes were wide as she blinked at the sunlight. She was back in the real world, staring at the young Biju. She didn't even realized she was crying until a tear fell from her cheek and dripped on the ground. She looked up at all the Biju and for once, truly_ _ **saw**_ _. She saw how innocent they were. She saw that they were just children. And most of all, she saw just how terrified all of them felt._

 _The Biju weren't monsters, or demons or anything like that. They were children. Just like Indra and Heiwa. And she had almost let them get captured by humans. How stupid did she have to be? Suddenly the ground seemed to almost melt away. A white slug head popped out,_ _ **"there you are!"**_ _Saiken exclaimed happily,_ _ **"we almost thought that we would never find you!"**_ _the Six-Tailed slug said, crawling up out of the ground with Shukaku following. Kokuo ran up to the two other Biju,_ _ **"are you both alright?!"**_ _the Dolphin-horse demanded worriedly. Saiken nodded cheerfully,_ _ **"yes, we are both fine, Shukaku and I had a great time, did we not brother?"**_ _he asked, turning to the relieved looking racoon._

 _Shukaku quickly masked his relief,_ _ **"oh yes, it was wonderful"**_ _he replied dryly, his voice implying that it was anything but. He looked at his siblings,_ _ **"so what do we do now?"**_ _the sand racoon asked, looking around at everyone. Suddenly Kagura flinched and gasped_ _ **'Kagura-Oba-Sama, are those not other humans that I can sense nearby?'**_ _Kurama asked from inside the white-haired woman's mind. "Everyone, you must get away from here quickly, the other humans are coming!" Kagura cried. However, it was too late, as at least fifty villagers ran out of the tunnel that Saiken had created. The young Biju gasped, but Kagura ran out in front of them all, "Wait! Please, do not hurt them!" she exclaimed. The villagers looked unsure and some walked towards the Tailed Beasts slightly, holding their weapons before them in a threatening manner._

 _"What are you talking about? You are the one who told us to capture them? That they were monsters?" one man asked. The female Otsutsuki shook her head, "I was wrong! I- I lied!" she cried, holding out her arms, in a futile attempt to protect the ones who she now saw as family, "none of them are monsters, I was afraid! I knew how much destruction the Juubi had caused, and I thought that they would be the same, but they are not! These Biju are nothing like the Juubi, and though I hated it for almost killing my elder brother and sister, that does not give me a right to hate them!" Kagura panted slightly, then looked to the ground sadly, "I have no right to hate them when they are innocent, and if I did continue hating them, it would make me no different than the people of my former village who hated and feared me for my power- these- creatures may look different, but they are innocent and they are more like us than we ever knew"._

 _She bowed her head, "so please-" she begged. The group of humans looked at each of the Biju in turn, and Kagura's bowing form for a long while, before one of them sighed, "it is true that they do not seem to be very threatening, what do you all say?" he asked, turning to his companions, "they are not monsters?" everyone else looked at each other and began talking in hushed whispers, before they all turned back to Kagura and the Biju, "alright, I suppose that they look harmless enough, only slightly strange, after all, how dangerous can creature that are the size of house cats be?" one man asked, causing most of the others to chuckle. Kagura laughed nervously. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to tell them about the Biju's size changing ability._

 _So in the end, the villagers returned to their homes while, the Biju followed Kagura. Kurama suddenly spoke up from within his aunt's mind,_ _ **'So, we will figure out how I get out of you later then?'**_ _he asked. Kagura nodded, 'that would be best Kurama-Oi' she replied._

 _*End of flashback*_

Matatabi sighed, **_"yes, that was quite a conundrum indeed"_** she replied. Saiken nodded, **_"well, I am just glad that it is over- it was far too worrisome"_** _._ Kurama chuckled slightly. Kokuo turned to look at her older brother with a raised eyebrow, **_"is something funny Kurama?"_** she asked in deadpan voice. The large fox kit shook his head, **_"no, I am just- wondering exactly how we are going to explain all this to Kaa-Sama when she returns home"_** he explained. All the Biju looked nervous at that, while Kurama just continued laughing.

To Be Continued


	28. Chapter 28

It had been a few days since Asura was born. Right now the three eldest present Otsutsuki were helping to fix the old women's roof, while Futami and Kaito were sweeping, cleaning, or doing anything else to help clean the house. The two men had offered to fix the roof instead, however, Hagoromo had proven to completely break the stereotype of women when she just smiled and continued working. She had said, and this was in her own words: _"I did not mind resting when I was pregnant, however Asura-Kun has been born now, and I must continue what I set out to do"_.

The red-haired sage looked down at Futami, who had just come out of the house, "Futami, would you mind handing me one of those wooden planks please?" she asked. The former thief nodded and picked up the plank in question, lifting it up so that his friend could grab hold of it, "here you go" he said. The red-haired woman nodded, "thank you" she replied with a grateful smile. Pulling it up into place, Hagoromo began to nail it down, slowly fixing the roof, thankfully enough, it was not as tiring a job as fixing bridges, however, it was still something that she and her brother had caused fighting Kaguya, that made it her responsibility to fix anything that was broken due to the Juubi's rampage. Just then the old woman whose house it was came out carrying a tray with wooden cups on it, "I thought that you might like something to drink, as you have all been working so hard to help me" she explained.

Hagoromo, Indra and Heiwa climbed down and took the water gratefully, "arigato Meiyo choro-San, if I may ask, how is Asura-Kun?" the Sage Of The Six Paths asked. The elderly woman smiled, "he is fine, that boy is very happy and cheerful already" she replied. "Kaa-Sama, can I hold Asura Otouto?" Indra asked, turning to look at his mother. Hagoromo nodded, "I do not see a reason that you could not" she stated, "come, I will show you how to position your hands to hold him properly" she said, all three following the woman into the house, while the two men stayed outside, "I think we will continue working for a little while longer" Futami said to himself and his comrade. Kaito nodded, "that sounds good" he replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Hagoromo and her six year old twins entered inside the house. The red-haired woman turned to face their host and bowed, "once again, thank you for all of your help Meiyo choro-San (Ms honorable elder)" she said respectfully. She straightened up to the sight of the woman shaking her head, "please call me Yuki, and it was no trouble at all, in fact you have all helped me far more that I have helped you, so please, there is no need to thank me". Suddenly Asura started to cry. Indra, who was the closest, went over to the bed and picked his baby brother up, "their their Otouto, Kaa-Sama will feed you in a moment" he said softly, while gently rocking the baby in his arms.

"I should feed him now," Hagoromo said, walking towards her eldest son, "here Indra-Kun, I can-" she was cut off however when the entire house began to shake- hard. Yuki fell to the ground first, then Heiwa and Indra. The black-haired boy wrapped his arms around his baby brother, who was screaming in fear from the Earthquake. Indra clenched his eyes shut. Suddenly he felt something pulling on his brother. Opening his eyes, they widened in horror. A completely black human shaped figure had it's arms wrapped around Asura and was pulling him. It's yellow eyes looked up into Indra's own and it seemed to smile- a horrible cruel smile. To the eldest Otsutsuki child it looked like some kind of demon. Indra screamed and clung to Asura as the shaking continued. However the black thing was too strong and his baby Otouto was ripped out of his arms and both the creature and Asura disappeared into the ground, the baby screaming in fear.

As the Earthquake began to die down, Indra kept screaming. When he finally snapped out of his shock enough to move, he began clawing and digging at the earth beneath him, now beginning to have words mixed in with his screams, "Asura! No! no! Otouto! Baby brother! No, no!" he cried, tears beginning to stream down his face and he continued frantically digging at the earth. When two strong yet gentle hands grabbed hold of his shoulders, he struggled to get rid of them and continue digging, "no, Otouto! that thing! That thing grabbed him, I have to- have to save him-!" "Indra!" Hagoromo tightened her grip on her sons shoulders slightly and shook him gently, "calm down!" she cried. She was worried about what her son was saying, his terrified and frantic actions and the lack of Asura in visible sight, but right now she had to calm Indra down and find out what had happened, otherwise she would not be able to do anything.

Besides, she had a feeling that things were very wrong. Indra wasn't like this, he was never frantic and prone to panic. He was always so calm and intelligent. But that just solidified that things were far worse than she thought. Indra was beginning to calm himself as Heiwa walked up, but tears were still streaming down his face and he was paler than usual. He looked up at her with wide, terror and shame-filled eyes. "Kaa-Sama," he paused and began to shake, "I am sorry," Indra broke off in a sob, "I am, s-so sorry," he held onto her like a lifeline. Hagoromo leveled calm purple-rippled eyes on her son, "tell me what happened?" she asked slowly. Heiwa placed a hand onto her twin brothers shoulder and it seemed to give the boy some more of his composure back because he swallowed and sniffed, "I was holding onto Asura, trying to keep him safe while the earthquake was going on, but during it a- thing came out of the ground and grabbed Otouto!" he cried, getting upset again.

Heiwa squeezed Indra's shoulder and he shivered, but continued in a calm tone of voice once again. "I-I tried to hold onto him, but it was too strong, it took him right out of my arms and smiled at me before sinking into the ground like the ground was not even there, t-taking Asura with it" at this the boy began trembling again and clung to her, while his twin wrapped her arms around her brother in comforting gesture. "I am so sorry Kaa-Sama!" he cried, tightening his hold on her as he began crying once again. Hagoromo stroked her boy's hair softly, "it is alright, I promise I will get Asura-Kun back- after all he may be your baby brother, but he is my son" she proclaimed with so much conviction that her eldest son actually smiled, "I know you will" he said, wiping his eyes. The red-haired sage nodded and released Indra.

"Stay here with Heiwa and Yuki-San, understand? I will be back" she said, her face becoming hard and dark. Indra and Heiwa shivered slightly, but they knew that the thing that took their baby brother would regret it's decision for the rest of it's life, however short it was. Hagoromo stood up, her face was stony. The woman then turned and shot off, _'damn you Black Zetsu, I thought it would not appear until both Indra and Asura were at least children, but no, it had to come now- well it had better_ _ **pray**_ _that I do not find it, or I will show it the true meaning of_ _ **hell!**_ _How_ _ **dare**_ _it come after Asura-Kun! What does it think it is doing, taking him?! well, I will ensure it regrets this decision for the rest of it's existence!'_ she thought furiously as she ran, sensing the creatures hatred and heading directly for the bastard.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _(meanwhile, with Black Zetsu)_

Asura screamed, feeling the coldness of the person that held him. Though, using the word _person_ to describe Black Zetsu was a stretch. Not only was it evil incarnate, with no moral what-so-ever, it was only shaped like a human, with most of it's body completely made up of an unidentifiable black substance with only it's two yellow eyes being anything other than black. It was already beginning to regret it's decision. This meat-sack _would not stop screaming and crying!_ It was the most annoying human it had ever had the displeasure to meet. Black Zetsu had originally taken the child to train it up into a weapon to use against Hagoromo, the cause of it's mothers imprisonment and separation.

Yes, Black Zetsu was the manifestation of the will of Kaguya Otsutsuki herself. It's plan was to revive mother, not deal with a screaming flesh-bag! **"Shut up!"** he yelled at the baby, hoping to get it to stop it's infernal screeching. Asura, terrified of this scary thing that wasn't Mama screamed harder, squirming as much as his baby body would allow in the grip of the one that held it. Black Zetsu scowled, placing the baby on the ground, **"if you do not stop that damn noise right now,** ** _I_** **will** ** _make_** **you scream!"** it yelled. Asura sobbed and screamed, wanting his Mama to keep him safe and warm. **"Fine!"** the creature picked up a thick stick and began hitting the baby over and over again. The brown-haired child, feeling pain for the first time sobbed more, wailing, crying out for the kind woman that he knew was Mama, or the other person with the gentle touch to help him.

He was so afraid, and the scary thing made him hurt. He just wanted Mama.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Hagoromo ran through the trees, using her sensing ability to find Black Zetsu's hatred and darkness. _'I swear if that worthless bastard has hurt my baby, I will kill it!'_ she thought with fury. _"But Bethany-Chan, if you kill Black Zetsu, will that not change the future?"_ the Sage asked. The red-haired woman scowled, _'I do not care, he is my son, and if anyone hurts him, I will destroy them, just like I would do for anyone that hurt the rest of my family'_ she thought back, narrowing her eyes _. "I can understand that, however, while I do believe that it was the hard work and determination of the people of the future that allowed them to win, Black Zetsu was right in the fact that if he had not manipulated things to his own advantage, those of the future might not have became strong enough to overcome the trials that they faced- not to mention peace may not have been achieved without events happening to push all the Shinobi of the world to cooperate and form a peace treaty- you must not forget about causality Bethany-Chan"_ Sennin-Sama replied.

Hagoromo scowled, her face scrunching up in frustration. _'I know that Sennin-Sama, but what am I supposed to do? If I do nothing, that bastard will know that I cannot touch it and will keep manipulating and hurting my children, and I-'_ she paused and clenched her fists, _'I cannot let that happen, they are_ _ **my**_ _children now, my responsibility- they are the first children I have ever had, and I cannot just stand back and watch them suffer so much- if you had a chance to redo things, would you not stop your children suffering before it could begin? Would you not want to stop the hatred between the Senju and Uchiha Clans before it could start? Would you not want to protect your sons?'_ she asked. Sennin-Sama frowned, _'besides, if I kill Black Zetsu now, their will be no need for Naruto and Sasuke to be that strong, they might even be friends from the beginning, with both their families still alive'_ she thought.

 _"That is what I mean, their would be so many things that would change if Black Zetsu died today, yes many of those things would be good, but it is a ripple effect Bethany, do you know how many things would change if for example, the Uchiha Massacre never happened?"_ the Sage asked. Hagoromo frowned. If the Uchiha massacre never happened, their would be a Coup de ta, then Civil War, if the village won, the other villages would take the chance to invade, and the weakened Hidden Leaf would try to fight back, leading to the destruction of Konoha and the weakening of the other villages. With the weakening of the other villages, everyone would be trying to invade each other, leading to a World war, which would mean that when the Fourth, or rather Fifth war started, not only would no one trust each other, but they would stand no chance against Madara and Kaguya, leaving the entire world trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi forever. The woman shuddered, _'alright, I agree, it is too risky to change things, no matter how much I want to or how much it hurts me to just leave things the way they are, it is the only way to ensure that the future stays as it should be- although, that does not mean that I have to like it'_ she thought back with a sigh.

Hagoromo continued to run towards where she sensed Black Zetsu and her sons own Chakra. She clenched her fists, _'Asura-Kun, I may not be able to prevent your future pain, but at least I can save you now'_ she thought, coming to a stop at a particularly plain looking spot. "This is it," she spoke to herself, pausing and clenching her fists, "this is where he took Asura" she hissed, Rinnegan glowing with an ethereal light due to her rage. Kneeling down, Hagoromo focused Chakra into her hands and slammed them onto the ground. A hole opened in the ground, and, with one last furious look, the woman composed herself, schooling her features into a blank mask with an undercurrent of fury, and jumped into the hole in the ground.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _(With Black Zetsu)_

The physical manifestation of Kaguya Otsutsuki's will was getting fed up extremely fast. He had thought that stealing one of Hagoromo's brats was a good idea at first. She loved her children so much, so he would steal one, corrupt it and destroy her from the inside out, not to mention manipulate it to resurrect mother. But obviously he took the wrong one! The wailing _would not stop!_ It was getting to the point that he regretted ever going near the brat. Currently, baby Asura was lying in one corner of the cave, naked, as he had only been wrapped in a blanket when he was grabbed, and covered in scratches and dark bruises. Asura was cold, hungry and in pain and the nice person with the soft touch wasn't here! He was so scared. This scary thing had hurt him! He had never felt pain before now, and he didn't like it!

Currently, Black Zetsu was contemplating killing the damn kid to make the noise stop and to hurt Hagoromo, when suddenly he felt a strong sense of fear take hold of him. The manifestation of will had never felt fear before now, but what he felt now was defiantly it. Suddenly the ground burst open, and a powerful and deadly Chakra enveloped it, focused only on Black Zetsu and not filling the rest of the cave. Slowly, with purposeful steps, Hagoromo entered the cavern from where she'd blasted the ground open. Her furious eyes were locked onto Black Zetsu, focusing all of her hatred and rage on the being. Against it's will, the creature began to tremble in fear. The red-haired woman stalked over to the wailing baby, gasping in horror when she saw the state of her child.

Hagoromo tenderly picked up Asura from where he was placed on the cold, hard and rough rock of the floor of the cavern. The baby sobbed from the pain he was in, and the Sage directed a deadly glare on the black construct. Black Zetsu couldn't help but shudder at the amount of controlled rage he could see in those rippled Amaranthine orbs. Without even a backwards glance at the creature, Hagoromo stalked from the cave, the ground closing up behind her. As soon as she left, Black Zetsu found that he could breathe again. Which was strange, as he didn't need to breathe, so he shouldn't have been unable to while in the woman's presence. The manifestation of Kaguya's will glared at the spot where Hagoromo had entered and exited. He would get that bitch back!

 ** _ĤŎ_**

As she ran back to her other children and Yuki-San, Hagoromo glared at the wounds adorning her baby sons body. How dare that bastard! Sending healing Chakra into her hands, the Sage began to heal her baby's wounds. Asura had calmed from his screaming when she had begun healing him and had now settled into her arms. Hagoromo cuddled her child gently to her chest. She had decided. She would never let anyone or anything touch her children ever again, not while she was alive. "Shhh," she whispered softly, "I promise, I will never allow you to get hurt like that again my precious son".

To Be Continued


	29. Chapter 29

As she placed the final plank of wood and nailed it in, Hagoromo wiped some sweat from her forehead. Strapped to her back was Asura, clapping happily at something he was watching behind her back. The red-haired woman smiled at her baby boy. Asura really was a happy boy, always laughing and smiling at one thing or another. She was glad when he recovered fully from his kidnapping at the hands of Black Zetsu. Hagoromo had been worried that it would affect him badly and he wouldn't be her happy caring boy. But he seemed to be fine, aside from a short bout of fearing being touched.

But now he was back to normal. As she finished fixing the roof, she sighed contentedly, "there we go, we are finished Yuki-San!" she called as she carefully climbed down from the roof. Indra and Heiwa finished sweeping at that moment as well, "we are finished as well!" Heiwa called cheerfully. Hagoromo smiled proudly at the twins as they came up to her, "well done you two" she praised. Heiwa beamed happily, and Indra's lips curved up into a small smile. Futami came over with Kaito stretching while following behind him. Yuki walked up and examined their work, before nodding, "it is good, I will be forever grateful to you Hagoromo-Sama" she replied, bowing, as Kaito had explained exactly who she was and what she had done. Suffice to say, Yuki was extremely happy that the woman had actually wanted to help someone like her with her problems.

Hagoromo herself smiled, "I should be the one saying that Yuki-San, you have been extremely kind and a big help to us" she replied, bowing slightly. The old woman waved her off, "oh, no need for that, I am only an old woman, please, do not worry about it" she replied. "Well, if we should ever meet again, I hope to find you in good health Yuki-San," she replied, turning away, "well, shall we go?" Hagoromo asked her group. Everyone nodded, and they left the repaired house, continuing on their way.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

As the group continued travelling and fixing the things that had been broken during the battle against Kaguya and the Juubi, more people decided to join Hagoromo on her travels. Most among them were adults, while some were children. Seven years past. Due to wanting to grow up with their little brother, and having learned it from their mother, Indra and Heiwa created seals that stopped them from growing when applied. They deactivated them when Asura was five, and continued growing from there. Hagoromo was initially unsure about letting her children do something so potentially hazardous to their health, but when she examined the seal, she found that they absorbed physical and spiritual energy separately, keeping the user young for a short time.

Though they were going to deactivate them when their younger brother was five, the seals actually slowly wore off over time, gradually releasing the stored Chakra, and allowing the user to slowly grow from there. Because of this, the twins ended up only being one year older than Asura by the time they returned home. Meanwhile, Hagoromo, Indra and Heiwa trained with their mother and their fellow Ninshu followers. The group would often meditate together, strengthening the bond each of them shared. Asura watched them, getting more and more curious about this 'bond' everyone shared with each other every passing day. One day, the boy went up to Hagoromo and tugged on her robe. The Sage turned and smiled at her youngest child. She knelt down in front of the boy, "yes Asura-Kun, what is it?" she asked softly.

Asura smiled, "can I me, medi, med- sit with you tonight Mama?!" he asked exuberantly. Hagoromo thought for a moment, would Asura-Kun be old enough to understand what they were doing and copy it? well, he was five years old, he should be able to at least sit with them. But first she wanted to see if he could actually form the bond. He may not be able to direct his Chakra properly yet. "Alright Asura-Kun, you can sit with Mama and try to form the bond, but first you must find your own Chakra, the energy that lets you form the bond, alright?" she asked. The boy nodded excitedly. Sitting on the ground in a cross-legged position, Hagoromo looked up at her youngest son, "first, you need to sit like Mama, but make sure you are comfortable" she instructed slowly, making sure the child understood. The boy nodded and got into the same position. When he was comfortable, he smiled, "okay!" The Eldest Otsutsuki nodded, "good, now, take my hand" she said, holding out her right hand.

Asura nodded again and grabbed hold of his Mama's hand. "Next I want you to close your eyes and try to breathe deeply and evenly, can you do that Asura?" she asked. The brown-haired child nodded, trying to focus on his breathing. When Hagoromo saw that he was keeping his breathing deep and even she smiled. He was doing well. Wasn't Asura supposed to be really bad at this or something? "Good, now, Mama is going to send some of her energy inside you, I want you to feel it, and then try to find the same type of energy within yourself, do you understand?" she asked carefully. When the boy made a noise of agreement, he was concentrating really hard, Hagoromo pushed some of her Chakra into the boy. Asura frowned in concentration. He could almost feel it. Just a little more. He almost had it, and- the boys eyes snapped open.

He'd lost it. His Chakra had vanished again, and now he couldn't feel any of the energy. Why did it keep doing that! Asura looked up at his mother with sad eyes, sure she'd be disappointed in him, "I lost it," he mumbled, "I could almost feel it, but then it went away again, I am sorry Kaa-Sama" he said, looking down in shame. Hagoromo smiled sadly and placed her hand on the top of his head, "It is alright, you almost had it, and that is what matters, why do you not keep trying for now, and I will check on your progress later?" she asked, before getting up and returning to the others, who were sitting in a circle all wearing similar white robes. Indra and Heiwa sat on either side of her, looking up when she came over. The woman sat down in her place and held out her hands. Her older children each took hold of one of her hands, while the other people in the group took hold of the hands of the people next to them and so on until they were all holding hands.

Each of them closed their eyes to help them concentrate, slowly feeling the Chakra they each had connect to each others Chakra. Asura couldn't help but watch sadly as everyone else shared a bond that he could not. He especially wanted to connect with his siblings and mother, but he could not hold onto his Chakra tight enough. The boy sighed. Suddenly he sat up straighter. Well, he would never be able to do it if he didn't try. And so Asura continued to meditate on his own, more determined than ever to hold onto his Chakra and form a bond with everyone through Ninshu.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

As Hagoromo and her group continued travelling around the world, they kept restoring buildings, homes, even forests, literally 'building bridges' with everyone. And the woman shared her Chakra with each of her followers who had pledged themselves to her and her way of life. Along the way, the Sage kept note of what places would be good homes for each of the Biju after she was gone, and left a Chakra marking their for them to find later, as well as building a shrine in each location. Soon enough there were enough followers of Ninshu, that many of them left of their own accord to keep fixing the lands that had been destroyed by the Juubi.

With this done, Hagoromo, Futami, a six year old Indra and Heiwa and a five year old Asura began their long journey home. Indra and Heiwa had grown their hair out long, while Asura kept his short and spiky. Thankfully though, they had come full circle, so while it seemed long, they would be able to reach home within a single year.

To Be Continued


	30. Chapter 30

When the group of four finally made it back home, Hagoromo took a deep breath then exhaled. "It is good to be home" she stated. Futami meanwhile was slack-jawed, "what?! You mean to tell me that this is where you live! It is enormous! And do not get me started on how much money it would take to keep this place fit to live in!" he turned towards Hagoromo, "are you some kind of princess or something?!" he demanded. At the word 'princess' the red-haired woman flinched, the word unintentionally bringing back bad memories. She turned to face her friend, "no, but my mother was- this is our family home" she replied, before walking towards the house with her three children following.

Futami followed behind, "did you mean what you said? Do you really want me to be an instructor of Ninshu alongside you?" the man asked, looking down slightly. Hagoromo stopped and turned back to her friend, "I mean, I am just a thief, well, actually not even that anymore- I was happy to follow you on your journey, but Hagoromo are you sure that you really want someone like me in your home, teaching your disciples?" he asked. The Sage walked over to the man and placed her hand on his shoulder, causing Futami to look up at her. What he saw was the Otsutsuki smiling softly at him, "you may have been a thief in the past, but now not only are you my disciple, you are my friend- I trust you Futami, and I want you to help me teach people about Ninshu" she said happily, giving the man's shoulder a small squeeze.

The brown-haired man nodded, "hai, arigato Hagoromo" he replied, smiling back. The Sage and the former thief went down the path, Futami still staring at the house in awe. It really was amazing. When they reached the front door, the Otsutsuki Clan head gave a brisk knock. The group waited a moment, before the door opened and revealed Tsukuyomi. The silver-haired man's eyes widened in shock and joy, "Hagoromo-Chan?" he asked. The red-haired woman nodded, "hai Tsukuyomi-Kun, it is me" she replied softly with a smile at seeing her husband again after so long. The man's face broke out into a large grin, "Hagoromo!" he cried, throwing himself into his wife's arms in joy. Hagoromo beamed and wrapped her arms around her husband's shoulders, "I missed you Tsuku" she said in contentment. Meanwhile, Futami just looked between them, "so, this is your husband Hagoromo?" he asked.

The silver-haired man pulled out of his hug and stared at the brown-haired man. Hagoromo introduced them quickly to avoid any altercations, "Tsukuyomi, this is my friend and the first follower of Ninshu Futami, Futami, this is my husband Tsukuyomi Otsutsuki". Futami bowed, "it is an honor to meet you Tsukuyomi-Sama" he said. Suddenly the silver-haired man smiled, "the honor is mine Futami-San, I am glad that my wife was able to make another friend, and I am also glad that you have decided to learn the ways of Ninshu" he replied, bowing back slightly. Futami smiled slightly, "arigato".

 ** _ĤŎ_**

That night, Hagoromo cooked dinner for everyone. They were having curry. The children, having never tried something like that before, were eager to try it. Futami was living with them until the woman had time to build another house for her friend. Tsukuyomi was happy to have his family back home, and Hagoromo was going to perform some certain errands with her children the next day. They all picked up their spoons; "Itaidakimasu!" everyone cried, then began to eat. Heiwa's eyes lit up once she'd tasted it, "this is delicious Kaa-Sama!" she exclaimed happily as she continued to eat. Hagoromo smiled, "I am glad that you are enjoying it Heiwa-Chan" she replied cheerfully. As they ate, the group discussed things that had happened over the last six years. Everything was bright and cheerful for the moment, but the red-haired sage was slightly worried that the "errands" that she was going to run with her children tomorrow would not go so well. As she took another bite of her curry, Hagoromo reassured herself that everything would be fine.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

That night, Hagoromo was able to tuck her children in their own beds for the first time in five years. Indra and Heiwa remembered their old rooms from before they left, but Asura was afraid to be left alone in his new bedroom by himself. Thinking, Hagoromo decided to use her Banbutsu Sozo to create a toy for her youngest child to sleep with. Asking him what kind of stuffed toy he would like, Asura replied that he would like a rabbit if it was okay with her. The Otsutsuki Clan Leader just nodded and created a fluffy bunny for her son. When he had the bunny in his arms, he squealed happily and lay down, deciding to name his new toy: Usayumi or Rabbit dream. Hagoromo felt a little unnerved by the name, but decided that as long as her son liked it that it didn't matter.

After she left Asura's bedroom, the woman walked to the master bedroom, finding Tsukuyomi already their waiting for her. Climbing into bed, the eldest Otsutsuki yawned. Her husband smiled, "exhausting day?" he asked. Hagoromo laughed slightly, "you have no idea" she replied. Tsukuyomi sighed, but it was still with a smile on his face, "well then, I suppose that you will not be able to do anything _else_ tonight?" he asked. The red-haired woman lay down on the bed, "no, not tonight" she replied, yawning at the end and closing her eyes. "Well, at least I get to sleep beside you again Hagoromo-Chan" the silver-haired man said, laying down next to his wife. Soon both adults were sound asleep.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next morning, Hagoromo woke her children up with a happy smile, "good morning everyone! I have a homecoming present for the three of you!" she sang. The twins woke up first, yawning and rubbing their eyes, "good morning Kaa-Sama, what present?" Heiwa asked, sitting up in bed. The woman smiled, "you will have to get ready first, meet me in the kitchen for breakfast!" Hagoromo replied cheerfully. Indra got out of bed, with Heiwa making sure he didn't run into any walls or trip over the bed.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Asura was harder to wake up, the boy groaning and clinging tighter to his blankets and stuffed bunny. "Mama, we just got home, I do not want to get up yet" he mumbled. Hagoromo just smiled, "well then, you will miss out on my present to the three of you, Indra and Heiwa are going to get it all to themselves!" she said, and practically skipped out of the room. Asura tried to go back to sleep, but the five year old was already awake, and couldn't get back to sleep. He sighed and dragged himself out of bed to go wash his face.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

When all three children were settled comfortably on the chairs in the living room, Hagoromo grinned and thrust a small box with holes punched into it in Indra's lap. The boy looked at it, before jumping slightly when the box made a whimpering sound. Indra carefully opened the box, only for his eyes to widen when the lid came off. All three children's eyes widened when they saw what was in the box. Indra gently put his hands inside it and lifted the small tan coloured puppy with short fluffy fur out of the box. Asura and Heiwa immediately gasped and squealed in delight, "Kaa-Sama, he is adorable!" the girl said happily, reaching out and gently stroking his fur with one hand.

"What is his name?" Asura asked, also stroking the puppy, and letting him sniff his hand. "His name is Shiro, he belongs to all three of you, so I expect you all to take responsibility for him and look after him well, do you understand?" Hagoromo asked seriously, though still smiling. All three children nodded together, "hai, we will!" they chorused. Hagoromo, along with Tsukuyomi who had come over both chuckled at that. Home sweet home.

To Be Continued


	31. Chapter 31

It had been a few days since Hagoromo had introduced her youngest son to his other siblings. Needless to say, Asura had thought the Tailed Beasts were awesome. The six year old was happy with his family. Tou-Chan, in Asura's eyes was cool too, because his hair was bright silver, just like the stars. Asura had taken in a hobby during the travelling he did with his mother and older siblings. The boy loved to stare up at the night sky and watch the stars. As he couldn't sleep that night, that was what he did. Despite Mama, Indra-Nii-San, Heiwa-Nee-San and Tou-Chan telling him that this was home, the boy still couldn't get used to his new living arrangements. He was used to sleeping outside in a sleeping bag beneath the stars.

The lavish house with big rooms, tall beds, lots of walls and unnatural colours was too overwhelming for his tastes. Asura much preferred it out here, under the shining and beautiful night sky. There was just something about nature that he found, alluring, comfortable and, well, more like home. It was like he belonged out here, like it was calling him. The brown-haired boy didn't know why, but he could feel a strange connection to the forest, animals, even the rocks and streams. As he felt himself relax, the Youngest Otsutsuki drifted off to sleep, with dreams of nature flowing through his mind.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day, Asura was getting dressed in his bedroom. After he'd finished, the boy left the room and hurried to the dining hall for breakfast. Upon arriving he saw everyone already up and at the table eating breakfast. Shiro was standing at a bowl at the foot of the table and eating some meat that someone had gotten for him. The younger Otsutsuki smiled and knelt down to stroke their pet, "good morning Shiro, it looks like someone else fed you today then, sorry" he chuckled, embarrassed. Standing up, he went to take his seat, which had a plate with food on it already there. He looked up at his mother, who was eating her own food, along with everyone else. He bowed his head, "arigato Mama" he said gratefully.

He then began eating his breakfast.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra, Heiwa and Asura decided to go and explore the forest that day. They discussed it as they were getting ready to go, "do you think that we should take Shiro with us?" Heiwa asked her two brothers. Asura nodded, "we should!" he exclaimed. But Indra frowned, "what if he runs away? Kaa-Sama did say that he was our responsibility, and I do not feel very comfortable taking Shiro, when we do not even know our own way around yet" he stated. Asura thought for a moment, "alright, we will explore first, and then take Shiro when we know our way around" he said. The three children nodded.

Placing their shoes on, Indra called out to their parents, "Kaa-Sama, Tou-San, Heiwa, Asura and I are going out to explore, we will be back later!" he said. Waiting a moment, he heard the voice of their father call back: "alright, but be careful, and do not stay out for too long!" he called. "Hai!" Heiwa called back. The three siblings left the house, happily looking around as they walked towards the forest. Asura turned to look at his older brother and sister, "so Indra-Nii-San, Heiwa-Nee-San, what are we going to do today?" he asked. "How about we have a race through the forest?" Heiwa suggested, "that way we can explore while still having fun" she said. Indra nodded, "that sounds like a good idea" he replied. Asura nodded, "sure, then I can show you just how fast I am!" he proclaimed with a grin.

Indra placed his finger on his chin, "alright, now where are the starting and ending points?" he asked. Heiwa looked around, then pointed to a big Sakura tree near their house, "that can be the end, and- how about we start at the house, run through the forest and try to get back to the Sakura tree first?" she suggested. The two boys nodded, "alright, let us go!" Asura cried excitedly. The three shot off.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra and Heiwa sat on the ground in front of the Sakura tree. Both were panting hard and sweating. Asura on the other hand was jumping around happily, "I won! I won!" he exclaimed, laughing happily. Indra smiled, "yeah, you won, well done Otouto" he praised. The younger boy grinned and held out his hands to his older siblings, "here" he said. Heiwa smiled and Indra's lips quirked up just the tiniest bit as they took the offered hands and stood up.

"Now let us go and see what is around here, Nii-San, Nee-San". Indra nodded, "alright Asura, sure" he replied. The three of them looked around the forest, finding many different animals and some huge trees. Asura moved a bush out of his way and grinned, "Indra-Nii-San, Heiwa-Nee-San come take a look at this!" he cried. The elder two came up as Asura walked past the bush into a clearing. In the middle of it was a large lake. Looking into the water, the three children could see many large fish swimming around in the water.

"Whoa/ah!" Asura and Heiwa exclaimed together, "look at how many fish there are!" Asura said, "and how big!" Heiwa exclaimed. The younger boy turned to his older brother, "Nii-San, we should make this our fishing spot, I bet I could catch a really big one!" he said with a grin. Indra smiled slightly, "alright, we will, I think fishing could be good for relaxing us" he replied. Asura threw his hands into the air and cheered, "awesome!"

 ** _ĤŎ_**

"And Indra, Heiwa and I found a great fishing spot with a lot of big fish!" the youngest Otsutsuki said excitedly to his parents that night at dinner. Hagoromo smiled, "that is good, it is always good to have a hobby, something that relaxes you after studying- for Hamura and I, it was taking walks through the forest" she explained, taking a bite of some of the noodles that she had cooked for dinner that night. The small family continued eating, "oh, and do not forget that you have your studies tonight after dinner you three" she reminded them. "Hai Kaa-Sama/Mama" the three replied together.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Four years passed in this way. Indra and Heiwa turned ten years old, while Asura was nine. It was now another night like all the others. The twins sat together reading the books that their mother had written about Ninshu. Both of them had read at least ten volumes each, while Asura was having a hard time understanding the fourth volume. Suddenly the younger boy cried out in frustration, gripping his head with his hands. He leant over so he could see his older twin siblings, "Nii-San, Nee-San, how can you read all of that?" he asked, exasperated. The boy turned to look at the shelves with all the different books, scrolls and tomes, "and Kaa-San too- why does she write so much?" he asked. Indra smiled at his younger brother, "it all has to do with Ninshu, Kaa-Sama's teachings- every word means something" he explained patiently.

Asura sighed, "I know that, but-" he trailed off and went back to studying. Several hours passed. "So it goes like this?" Heiwa asked quietly, lacing her hands together, and pointing her two index fingers upwards, with her thumbs touching each other. Indra frowned, and placed one hand over the other, with one finger pointing up, "maybe more like this?" he suggested. The two continued to experiment with different hand positions, seeking advice from each other. Indra decided to check on Asura. When he looked over the top of his desk, he found their younger brother fast asleep on top of the book he had been reading from.

He smiled softly and went around to his younger brother. Gently removing the book from under his face, Indra placed it onto the ground and wrapped a blanket around Asura so that his baby brother didn't catch a cold. The twins then continued to work on devising hand signs for a while, before going to bed themselves.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day the three went fishing again. Indra's line was pulled all over the place. "This one is huge!" Asura exclaimed. "Asura, get the net!" Indra said. "Right!" the brown-haired boy nodded, holding it out unsteadily. Suddenly the fishing line broke. Heiwa and Asura gasped, before the younger boy leaped into the water. "Asura!" the twins cried at the same time. Suddenly the younger Otsutsuki emerged from the water, soaking wet with weeds in his hair, but holding up the net victoriously, "look!" he cried, "I got it Nii-San!" Indra sighed, with a smile on his face, "damn it, you are so impulsive" he said, though jokingly.

Suddenly Asura's line began tugging as well. Heiwa ran over to the pole and picked it up, "you have got a bite as well!" she called. "You are right!" Asura replied, climbing out of the water and placing his older brother's fish down. He grabbed the fishing rod along with his older sister, "it might be bigger than Indra-Nii-San's!" he exclaimed excitedly, as both pulled hard. The line flew up as whatever was one the other end was thrown into the grass behind the three. Shiro sniffed the grass and began barking. The three Otsutsuki siblings went to look at what Asura had caught, but were disappointed to find a log, "oh, it is only driftwood" the boy said. Indra walked up to the log and knelt down, placing his hands into what would become the Ram hand sign.

Focusing his Chakra, the log suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. In its place was a huge black fish, flopping around in the grass. Heiwa smiled at her twin, while Asura gasped in wonder, "amazing! It is a huge fish!" he exclaimed. Indra picked it up, "nice job Asura" he praised. The younger boy walked up to him and nodded, "yeah!" Then he frowned in thought, "but Nii-San, what did you just do?" he asked, as he began poking the fish that used to be a log.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra and Heiwa sat next to each other on the ground, focusing their Chakra. The other followers of Ninshu, as well as Hagoromo, Tsukuyomi and Asura watched silently. Indra formed the Rat, Ox then Tiger hand signs. When he held out his hand a burst of flame appeared over his palm before vanishing. Heiwa formed the Boar, Snake and Ram hand signs and a small torrent of water appeared and twisted above her hands before it fell to the ground. Everyone gasped at the two, while Asura ran up to his older siblings, "w-what did you two just do?" he asked, while staring at their hands.

"When infusing Chakra to release power, we noticed that the formation of your hands make a difference," Indra explained. "I think that you can command various powers by the way you shape and combine your hands and fingers" he said, "really?!" Asura asked excitedly. Heiwa nodded, "we have decided to call the formation of our hands 'sign' and the release of power 'Jutsu'" she continued. "Sign and Jutsu" Asura said, before he grinned, "that is amazing! You are both amazing Indra-Nii, Heiwa-Nee!" he exclaimed. Hagoromo watched all this silently, as her other disciples and husband went up to congratulate their son and daughter for their discoveries.

The Sage frowned and tightened her grip on her arms. _'This is it, I have to keep an eye on my children from now on'_ she thought, catching sight of yellow eyes in the trees. Hagoromo glared at it, and the creature she knew to be Black Zetsu disappeared again. She didn't really mind Ninjutsu being invented, it helped save the world after all, but she would not allow her children to be corrupted. Not while she was still alive.

To Be Continued


	32. Chapter 32

Within a few months, many of Hagoromo's followers had begun putting the new hand signs to practice, using them to start fires to keep warm, water fields and other such things. The woman however, was getting restless, she could sense Black Zetsu hanging around the area, and, despite the warning she gave the bastard nine years ago, he wasn't backing off. Hagoromo was currently sitting in her study meditating, trying to calm her nerves. Strangely enough, Asura had been spending more time studying than normal. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The sage came out of her meditation with a relaxed sigh. She opened her eyes and looked at the door, "come in Asura-Kun" she said.

The brown-haired boy slid the door open and entered, closing the door behind himself. "Konban-wa, Kaa-San, are you free?' he asked. Hagoromo smiled and nodded, "hai, what do you need Asura-Kun?" she asked. The boy shifted nervously, "well, I cannot understand a lot of what you have written, it is complicated, but I want to understand more about Chakra, can you teach me instead?" he asked. Hagoromo smiled softly, "of course," she paused when she saw her youngest son take out many sheets of paper along with ink and a brush. She raised an eyebrow, "my my, when did you become so interested in studying?" she asked curiously.

Asura looked down, "well, Indra and Heiwa invented Ninjutsu, I have an idea for something as well, and I want to create it to help people" he replied softly. The Sage looked at her son for a moment, before nodding, "alright, well, Chakra is a mixture of Spiritual energy, which is created from the mind and your own experiences," she paused as she saw Asura determinedly writing down what she had said. When he stopped and looked up again, she continued, "and physical energy, which is created from every cell in the body, you can increase the amount of spiritual energy through study and meditation, and the amount of physical energy your body creates through physical exercise" she explained. After he'd finished writing that down, Asura placed one hand under his chin in a thinking position, "hm, if the physical energy is created through every cell in the body, then it must help in the healing process or something, right?" he asked.

Hagoromo raised an eyebrow, "yes, I would assume so, why?" she asked curiously. "Say you stimulated these cells by increasing the energy they produced, what would happen then?" he asked, looking up at his mother. "Doing that would increase the cell production and the healing rate" she replied. Asura grinned and nodded, "I thought so," he said, writing it down, "and if someone ran their Chakra through another person's body, they could, in a way, scan for internal injuries, right?" he questioned. The red-haired woman nodded, "hai, that is correct" she replied. Hagoromo tilted her head, she had an idea where this was going, but she wanted to make sure, "what is this all about Musuko?" she asked. Asura grinned, lifting his brush from the paper, "I got this idea from reading your scrolls on Ninshu, but I wanted clarification on some key points- with this, you could easily heal a person of any and all injuries that they had, in theory anyway," he paused and blew on the ink to dry the marks.

When they were dry, the boy picked up the sheets of paper, and stood up, bowing slightly as he did so, "arigato Kaa-San, goodnight" he said, leaving the room quickly. Hagoromo smiled slightly, well, it seemed that Asura was more of a genius than everyone thought- with the right motivation of course. Yawning, the Sage blew out her torch and stood up, cracking her joints back into place as she did so. Time for bed.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day the two boys were collecting firewood together. Asura tried to use a wind style Jutsu to cut the log apart, but the Chakra he'd gathered went out of control, knocking him to the ground. "Asura!" Indra cried, going over and kneeling in front of the younger boy, "are you alright?" he asked. Asura sat up, "I am alright Nii-San" he replied. "When releasing Chakra you must be extremely careful, or you could be seriously hurt," Indra reminded him, "we possess more Chakra that other people". Asura knew this, as he would need to have extremely fine control for his Medical Jutsu. But it seemed as though he wasn't their quite yet.

"Sorry" the younger boy replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Later, during training, Hagoromo's followers continued practicing Jutsu, while the Sage and her two eldest watched. "Your invention has transformed Ninshu greatly" she stated, "yes," Indra replied. "But I do not know if that was a good thing" Heiwa said. "Why is that?" Hagoromo asked. The twins looked at each other and Heiwa sighed, "training used to be more spiritual, but now it is more focused on honing the Jutsu themselves" she said. "In time it could be used as a weapon and create chaos in the world" Indra continued. "The astuteness that the two of you possess is almost frightening," Hagoromo said, "I did not realise that you had both thought so deeply about it".

Indra looked down, "yes" he replied sadly. "However, there is more than one future for everything in this world, one small choice could have drastically different consequences than what would have happened otherwise- Chakra may become a weapon, or it may not, it is up to us to teach those who possess it to use it for the right reasons" Hagoromo stated. Indra and Heiwa looked up at their mother in awe. She was very wise.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

That evening the twins were practicing weaving hand signs in the forest, when they heard a voice, **"so it was you,"** it stated. The two looked around, **"you inherited mothers powers!"** "who is their? Come out!" Indra demanded. The winds blew through the tree's, **"I will always be watching you"** then the presence of the person vanished.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Two days later the Otsutsuki children went to training. Indra formed the Ram, Tiger and Snake hand signs and created four clones of himself, "very impressive Indra-Sama, next Heiwa-Sama" Futami said. Heiwa managed to create three clones. "Good, next, Asura-Sama" Asura fist-pumped with both hands, "right!" he exclaimed. The boy formed the three hand signs required. A- thing appeared. It had the clothes, but the skin was white, the head was way too big with only three hairs on top of it and its hands were more like stubs. The youngest Otsutsuki stared at the thing with a twitching eyebrow.

Afterwards, Indra and Heiwa spared with each other, with Asura watching from the sidelines. The two were perfectly matched. For every strike that Indra sent towards his twin, Heiwa blocked it. For every counter that Heiwa aimed towards Indra, the boy deflected it. They were only children, but their moves were still graceful compared to what would be expected of children their age. "Alright, that is enough" Futami said. The twins straightened up from their fighting positions and bowed to each other. "Next up, Indra vs Asura". The two boys went and stood across from each other.

"Begin!" Futami called. This spar was a lot slower than the previous one. The two sent hits at each other, which were blocked or deflected by Indra, and mostly blocked by Asura. Brining his left palm back, Indra charged Chakra into it and hit Asura straight in the chest, sending the boy flying back and hitting the floor with a thud and a grunt of pain. "Stop their!" Futami called. Indra looked worried as Asura slowly pushed himself up, "are you alright Asura?" Indra asked, Heiwa coming over as well. "Yeah," he replied, sitting up, "you are really strong Nii-San" just then a drum beat was heard through the hall. Asura perked up, "training is over!"he exclaimed happily, climbing to his feet, "I am going to go and play with Taizo and the others!" he exclaimed enthusiastically as he ran off.

Hagoromo sighed with a smile on her face. With all the training, studying and writing volumes of Medical Ninjutsu that Asura was doing, he deserved to go play once in a while. Indra turned to her, "Kaa-Sama, I am going to go train a little more on the hill out the back" he said and bowed. "I will go as well" Heiwa decided, also bowing to her mother. The two then walked off. Futami nodded, "it seems that Indra-Sama and Heiwa-Sama have assumed great control of the powers that you passed onto them," he stated. "And that is a good thing". Hagoromo turned to her second friend, "why is that?" she asked. "Well, if you are to name a successor one day, it is customary to choose the eldest son" he replied. The red-haired woman crossed her arms. She had actually been thinking of naming all three of them her successors. After all, that would eliminate the feud between her sons, and would have someone who was strong and who could lead in authority, while also having a gentle guiding hand to help. She wasn't sure what Heiwa would find important, but she would find out eventually.

To Be Continued


	33. Chapter 33

Asura went and found Shiro lying stretched out in the sun, "hey boy, do you want to come with me?" he asked. The puppy got up and barked happily. The youngest Otsutsuki grinned, "great, come on!" he exclaimed, running out to the fields to meet his friends. When he saw them he waved, "hey!" he called. "You are late Asura!" a boy with black spiky hair, with the front part being blond said, sounding annoyed. "Sorry, sorry," the brown-haired boy said apologetically, bending over slightly to catch his breath. Then he stood up again, "I will have you know that I came as soon as I finished with training," Asura replied. "Anyway, what is it?" he asked curiously.

The only girl of the group pointed to the ground, "look at this" she said. Looking down, Asura saw strange animal prints, "what is this?" he asked. "Wild boar tracks," the other boy replied, "a lot of the fields have been damaged recently," he explained. "That is not good" Asura stated. "How about we go and hunt it down?" Taizo asked excitedly. Everyone gasped and looked at the black and blond-haired boy. Standing up straight, the girl frowned, "but is that not dangerous?" she asked. Taizo stood up straight as well, "we should be fine!" he said confidently, "if worse comes to worse, we have Asura!" he stated, "you can use your Jutsu to bring it down!" "What?!" Asura asked. He could not do jutsu! "That is right!" the girl said, "so come on!" the other boy exclaimed excitedly. Asura deflated and frowned.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra and Heiwa were in the forest, working on their martial arts forms. They paused and wiped the sweat from wherever it was. Suddenly, Indra threw several homemade daggers at a tree branch, "are you their!" he asked angrily, Heiwa scowling as well. **_"I am so happy that you sensed my presence!"_** the voice said cheerfully, but it was strange, distorted. Indra felt his skin crawl just at the sound of it. A small clothed figure materialised out of the tree branch. The red-haired girl frowned, "it is, a child?" she asked. "What do you want? Why do you keep following us?" Indra asked.

 ** _"You two will grow strong,"_** the person said, **_"you have the desire, potential and talent for Ninshu,"_** the person began to walk along the tree branch, **_"however…,"_** he glanced at Indra out of the corner of his eye, **_"you are still not aware of your true power"_**. Indra's eyes narrowed minutely, "my true power?" he whispered, **_"an even greater power lies dormant within you, but there is one condition for awakening that power"_** the person said.

He laughed slightly, and again Indra shivered. "Who are you?! How do you know that?!" he demanded, while Heiwa clenched her fists. She had a very bad feeling about this person. **_"It does not matter how I know, but if you awaken your power,"_** the person turned to look at them again, **_"then my wish will come true one day"_**. Heiwa was still on edge and she gripped Indra's arm. Her brother moved his arm up until his hand was resting comfortably in hers, and she relaxed slightly, **_"Well, for now it does not matter, we were talking about awakening your power were we not?"_** he asked. Indra scowled, **_"do you want to know how?"_** the person asked, **_"it has nothing to do with training you know"_**.

Indra looked slightly curious, and Heiwa squeezed his hand, **_"you must lose love"_** he replied. The eldest Otsutsuki child became worried, but couldn't stop himself from asking anyway, "what do you mean?" he asked. **_"Like having someone you love die"_** the cloaked person replied, and both Indra and Heiwa's thoughts immediately went to Asura's grinning face. Imagining what it would be like losing their Otouto, there was only a dark emptiness remaining. The person grinned, and the smile tugged on something in Indra's memory. That smile. That horrible, evil smile. Black hands emerging from the ground and dragging Asura into the ground. A demon.

Indra glared at it, "you! You stole my Otouto when he was just a baby! You hurt him!" he cried angrily. Pulling out another kunai, the boy prepared to throw the knife, "stay away from Asura, or I will destroy you!" Indra exclaimed. **_"Shall we test it out"_** he asked. "What are you going to do?!" Heiwa demanded. But the black person didn't answer, instead he sunk into the tree branch and disappeared, ""wait!"Indra cried, but he was gone. Heiwa gasped, and looked into the distance, "Asura!" both twins exclaimed.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Meanwhile, Asura and his friends were following Shiro through the forest, looking for the wild Boar. "Over here, the tracks continue over here!" Taizo called. Shiro stopped and started barking at a bush. The group stopped, staring at the bush, "hey, do not tell me-" Taizo said worriedly. It was at that moment that a monster of a boar came out of the bushes. It blew air out of it's nose and ran forwards, causing the children to scream in terror and scatter in different directions.

The boar continued to follow Asura into the trees. The boy looked back in terror, "it is coming this way!" he cried. Asura looked forwards, seeing a big rock ahead of him, "alright, I will use that!" he said to himself. The brown-haired boy leapt on top of the rock, but before he would even catch his breath, the bore slammed into the boulder and shattered it into pieces. Asura screamed as he fell to the ground, the rubble that was once the rock falling around him.

"What is with him anyway?" he asked himself as he leapt into the trees again. Asura looked behind himself as trees were torn up in the animal's attempt to reach him, _'that is no ordinary boar'_ he thought to himself, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple. The monster pig continued to chase the young Otsutsuki, knocking down the tree that the boy had just landed on. Asura hit the ground on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Sitting up slowly, the boy looked at the wild pig. His friends, on the branch of a tree a few meters away from where he was called out to him, "Asura! Use Ninshu!" Taizo called.

The brown-haired boy tried to remember the hand signs that his older siblings had come up with, but not only could he not remember them, he was never very dexterous and his memory was paralysed by fear, his fingers refusing to form the right shapes. The boar turned around and, unseen to the boy, was enveloped in a dark shadowy aura. Asura was still trying to form the hand signs for any jutsu. The wild pig pawed at the ground, roared and ran at the brown-haired boy. Shiro ran in front of his master, but Asura managed to snap out of his fear enough to grab his friend quickly. Just then the boar rammed into the youngest Otsutsuki and knocked him back further. Shiro whined, but was otherwise unharmed due to Asura holding onto him.

The boy let go of the dog and sat up slightly, eyes filling with tears in fear. He shuffled backwards in terror, for the first time in his life feeling like he was going to die. Suddenly a familiar voice rang in the forest, a voice that filled the boys heart with hope again: "Asura!" Indra leapt from a tree branch and landed in front of his younger brother. "Nii-San" he breathed in relief. "Otouto!" Asura looked to the side as his older sister ran up to him as well, "Nee-San" the boy felt his eyes fill with tears once again, although this time they were of relief and joy. He was safe! "hurry, come on!" Heiwa said, grabbing the younger boys hand and leading him over to the tree's. Indra glared at the boar, "how dare you do this to my Otouto!" he hissed in anger. He formed three hand signs, and his left hand was suddenly wreathed in lightning.

Indra ran towards the animal and slammed his hand through the boar's side, tearing into it's flesh and killing the monstrous animal in a instant. It fell to the ground and Indra straightened up. Suddenly Hagoromo ran up, "Indra-Kun, Heiwa-Chan, Asura-Kun!" she cried. Heiwa turned to her mother from where she was holding her younger brother, "Kaa-San!" Asura exclaimed, rushing up with Shiro in his arms, "Shiro-" he paused and looked down worriedly. Hagoromo looked at the whimpering puppy sadly, then she placed her hands on his body. Her hands glowed with green Chakra and suddenly the wounds on Shiro were healed. The tan and white dog opened his eyes and squirmed around until he could reach up and began to lick Asura's face.

"Shiro!" Asura exclaimed happily, while Heiwa beamed at her baby brother and Indra smiled softly. Hagoromo turned to smile at her oldest child, before she looked over at Indra and gasped. The black-haired boy frowned, "what is wrong Kaa-Sama?" he asked. The red-haired woman walked over to her first son and placed her hand on the boy's cheek. "Kaa-Sama?" Indra asked softly, his face falling more and more, and Hagoromo could see the fear beginning to form on her sons face. The eldest Otsutsuki shook her head and smiled reassuringly, "it is nothing, do not worry, you have just awakened an eye power, like I myself have" she explained.

Indra's eyes widened, "I have?" he asked. Hagoromo nodded, "hai, you have, however this does not mean that you are the most powerful- these eyes are only a tool, you must work to master them- and do not forget what you said to me ten years ago, no one can do everything alone, promise me" she said seriously. After a moment of staring into his mothers eyes, Indra nodded, "hai Kaa-Sama" he replied. "Nii-San?" the black-haired boy turned to face Asura and smiled at him, "it is alright Otouto, everything is fine now" he replied. Asura nodded, cheering up, while Heiwa walked over to her twin, younger brother and mother, "shall we return home?" she asked. The other three nodded and turned in the direction of home, Shiro happily jumping along beside them.

To Be Continued


	34. Chapter 34

Indra and Heiwa were meditating in their clearing when they felt a familiar presence. Indra's eyes snapped open, "I can feel your presence, show yourself!" he demanded. The person from before emerged from the tree branch, **_"I see that you got my present"_** he said. The black-haired boy glared at him. " ** _Oh? Now what is that look for? And after I awakened your power for you as well"_**. The black-haired boy seethed, "you almost killed my Otouto!" he exclaimed, "why should I be grateful for that!?" Indra demanded.

He turned to leave, "come Heiwa!" he said angrily, "we are going to go tell Kaa-Sama about this person right now!" he exclaimed. The two began to walk off when the mysterious person called out to them, **_"I would not do that if I were you"_** he said nonchalantly. Heiwa turned back to him, "and why is that?" she asked icily. **_"Because I hold your little brothers life in my hands"_** he replied. Indra turned back to face the creature fully, eyes narrowed into a deadly glare, **_"and I think that you have already seen what I can do first hand"_**.

Both twins were now full out glaring at the bastard, but it did not seem fazed, **_"good, now, let us each go our separate ways for now- oh, and I am looking forward to seeing how much stronger you have both become the next time we meet"_** Black Zetsu said as he sank into the tree branch and vanished. After his presence had disappeared completely, Heiwa turned to her twin, "what do we do now brother?" she asked. Indra clenched his fists, "there is only one thing we can do Heiwa," he replied. The boy opened his eyes, showing his red Sharingan glowing in the shadows of the trees, "we need to become as strong as possible as soon as we can, that is the only possible way that we can protect our Otouto from whatever that person has in mind" he said.

Heiwa frowned, but nodded, "I understand Indra" she replied. Both turned and walked back home, determined to become as powerful as possible and protect their little brother no matter what.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Hagoromo meanwhile was going to visit her other children, the Biju. As she walked into the cavern that was their home, the woman smiled at each of them. Kurama turned around and saw her first. His mouth stretched into a wide toothy grin, **_"Kaa-Sama!"_** he exclaimed happily. The others turned around at that and when they saw their mother they lit up, **_"it is you!"_** Chomei cried, **_"why have you not come to visit us?"_** Shukaku asked, his voice bordering on a whine. Kurama turned to his younger brother, **_"do not do that again"_** he said with a shudder.

The sand Tanuki tilted his head to the side, **_"why not?"_** he asked. The larger fox flattened his ears against his head, **_"because that pitch hurts my ears"_** he replied. **_"Oh,"_** Shukaku replied and his sand coloured cheeks became a slight rose colour indicating that he was blushing, **_"I am sorry Kurama"_** he replied, looking contrite. Hagoromo smiled, "now, now, I know that everyone can get along, we are family after all" she said, "I have realized that I have not visited you often enough lately, and I have decided to correct that starting now" she explained.

Son Goku frowned, **_"you do not have to, we understand that you are spending time with Tou-Sama and our brothers and sister- you still had to raise and look after them so do not worry so much"_** he replied. Gyuuki nodded, **_"hai, you should still spend time with the rest of your family, not worry about us constantly"_** he said. The red-haired woman smiled slightly, "I know that, but recently that is all I have been doing," she sighed, "it has been four years since we returned, and I have been only spending time with my human family, and severely neglecting all of you- I mean it has not just been four years, I was gone for eight years on top of that, and I only visited you all once when I came home" Hagoromo deflated, "I have been neglecting you, my other children and for that I apologize- I only hope that I can one day make it up to all of you," she looked up at them sadly, then smiled slightly, "for now I can begin by spending time with you today, and I hope that I can become a good mother to you all" she finished.

The Biju looked shocked and touched, **_"Kaa-Sama-"_** Chomei said softly. "So, what should we do?" the eldest Otsutsuki asked. Shukaku began bouncing slightly, **_"ooh, ooh, I know, can you tell us about your journey around the world?"_** he asked excitedly. Hagoromo beamed and nodded, "of course" she replied, and began telling her tales about her travels to spread Ninshu to the world.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra and Heiwa were training again, the mysterious person's words echoing in their ears, **_"I would not do that if I were you, because I hold your little brothers life in my hands, and I think that you have seen what I can do first hand, good, now, let us each go our separate ways for now- oh, and I am looking forward to seeing how much stronger you have both become the next time we meet"_** **.** Indra clenched his fists and teeth together, breathing heavily through his teeth. **_"I hold your little brothers life in my hands"_** enraged, Indra focused a large amount of Chakra into his palm and slammed it into the trunk of the tree next to him.

The trunk splintered and toppled, crashing to the ground. The black-haired boy panted, closing his eyes. Heiwa walked over to her twin and placed her hand on his shoulder. The boy turned to face his sister, "we will protect Asura, do not worry Heiwa, we will keep our family safe" Indra said. Heiwa closed her eyes, "I know, I just felt, I am not sure how to describe it- dirty, by not telling our Kaa-sama about this, not to mention worried about what will happen" she replied. The black-haired boy sighed, things were so much easier when they were travelling the world with Kaa-Sama. Heiwa looked at Indra, "brother," she said forcefully. The black-haired boy turned to look at the red-haired girl, who was in a fighting stance, "let us spar, it will help us get stronger". Indra stared at her for a moment before nodding also getting into a fighting stance.

The two waited a moment as the wind blew through the clearing. As soon as the wind stopped, the two rushed at each other, determined to become as strong as possible.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Six years later the twins were 16 years old and Asura was 15. Indra had become far stronger than before and was an instructor for Ninshu. Asura had written several dozen books on medical theory. He had gone to Hagoromo and requested to teach her followers Medical techniques. Now the youngest was an instructor as well. The teenager walked into the hall where everyone was waiting to begin with a large box in his hands, "everyone who wants to learn medical jutsu please follow me" he said. Several men and women followed Asura to an empty section of the training hall.

"Alright, today you are going to learn the art of healing," the young teenager said, kneeling and placing the box down before him. As he opened it, the group saw many dead fish. Many people recoiled, but Asura didn't hesitate to pick one up and place it down on the floor in front of him. "Now, these fish are already dead so that you can be eased into the healing arts slowly- first I want you to watch me and what I do, alright?" he asked. His new students nodded. The brown-haired boy took a deep breath and placed his hand carefully into half of the Ram hand seal. As he focused his Chakra flared then enveloped his hands.

Slowly, trying to keep concentration, Asura released the hand sign that he only learned recently and placed his glowing palms onto the fish. Using his Chakra to scan the internal injuries. He already knew where the injury was, as he had made it himself, but he felt it was better to get into the same mind as his students to help him understand his hardships. Of course he had plenty of hardships himself creating these techniques, having to refine his Chakra control into a fine line in order to not burn, cook or blow up what he was healing, as well as get his Chakra to move in the right direction to heal his patient. And now he had to teach his fellow Ninshu followers about his own inventions. As he finished healing the fish he let all the wide-eyed people see it and inspect it for injury.

Once they saw that it was fully healed, they stared at him in awe. Asura was so un-used to being the center of that kind of attention that he blushed and looked down with a small smile of his face. Soon enough the Otsutsuki stood up again and picked up the box again, going around and placing a fish before each of the men and women, "alright everyone, the first thing we are going to learn is how to sense an injury using your Chakra, as internal injuries will not be visible to the naked eye, and the ability to use your Chakra to find such an injury will be what may help you all save a loved one's life one day," he explained, "now, try to focus a small amount of Chakra to your hands first" he stated. The boy watched as everyone practiced healing.

To Be Continued


	35. Chapter 35

The next day the Otsutsuki siblings went to practice. Despite Asura being an instructor in Medical Jutsu, the young man still needed to train in other things, so today he was going to spar with everyone else. Sparing had never been one of his strong points, the others all being far too fast for him to keep up with. But he tried his best to block and counter the attacks sent his way. Surprisingly enough, the brown-haired boy was doing a good job, most of the attacks not getting through. Most of this was attributed to knowing how the Ninshu sparing worked and his muscle memory.

He also decided to try something different. By reinforcing his body with his Chakra, Asura was able to block most of the hits without actually touching his opponent. He had to keep a very thin amount of Chakra around his body, to ensure that he didn't harm himself, but it was enough to protect his body, and due to his constant Chakra control exercises for his Medical techniques, he was able to send the right amount of Chakra to the right places. Indra and Heiwa ploughed through their opponents like usual and sent them sprawling onto the floor.

Turning his head, Asura watched with awe as his twin older siblings took out their sparing partners with ease, "awesome" he whispered. However, his lapse in attention meant that his defense- ie, his concentration on the Chakra he used to reinforce his body, slipped and his own opponent slammed his Chakra coated hand into his stomach with enough force to bruise. Asura was sent sprawling to the ground, grasping his stomach in pain right next his siblings partners. Indra walked over to the three "put all you have into it" he said to his student. The man nodded, "hai" he turned to his younger brother, "Asura, you too, you may be good at medical Ninjutsu, however you will never be able to do anything for anyone if you are trying to defend them and get taken out so easily" he said sternly.

The brown-haired boy sat on the ground with his knees folded underneath him, "hai," he said, then turned to the people that Indra and Heiwa had knocked to the ground, "can you wait a moment? I will not really be able to heal you both very well if my own body is too injured" he said as his siblings watched. The other two nodded their heads, and Asura formed the concentration hand sign and directed his Chakra towards his stomach. Soon a blue glow appeared above the area and the boy sighed in relief as the pain and bruises vanished. Next he turned to the other two men and focused his Chakra into his hands, before placing them above where they were injured, "arigato Asura-Sama" the man he was healing said gratefully.

The brown-haired teen shook his head, "it is fine, I am happy to help anyone who needs it" he replied with a small smile. Hagoromo, Futami and Tsukuyomi stood and watched as all this was going on. _'Asura-Kun has excelled in the healing arts, and even gotten better at sparing, Indra-Kun and Heiwa-Chan are very strong, however, though my eldest son is rather strict, he is not as demanding as he would have been without his sister there, all-in-all, I believe that things have gone rather well so far'_ the red-haired sage thought to herself. Tsukuyomi turned towards his wife, "our children have become strong Hagoromo" he said in satisfaction. Hagoromo turned to look at her husband and nodded, "hai, they have" she replied with a small smile.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Outside, Asura wet a cloth with water from a barrel and rung it out. He wiped the sweat from his face then picked up a stick with a small bowl on the end of it. He filled it with water and drunk until he was satisfied. Once he was finished he overheard two of his fellow Ninshu followers talking. "Indra-Sama is amazing, when he glares at you with those eyes I cannot even move- though Heiwa-Sama is amazing also, they are so young and are already instructors, the two of them are the ones who invented hand signs and jutsu, though my sister tells me that Asura-Sama's medical jutsu is also amazing- to think that even the less talented son has come so far- it is incredible!"

The boy blushed and gave a small smile from behind the bush where he was. He was happy those men had recognized him.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

A few days later Asura was in the middle of another healing lesson when he and his students heard a woman screaming his name: "Asura-Sama! Asura-Sama!" the brown-haired boy hastily dipped his head to his students in apology and ran outside, "yes, what is wrong?!" he called as he went. A young woman came running up with a young girl in her arms, "my daughter!" she exclaimed as the youngest Otsutsuki caught the distraught woman in his arms, "oh please help my daughter!" she cried. With just a glance down at the child, Asura knew it was bad.

Her face was twisted with pain and there was a large dark bruise forming on the little girl's stomach. Asura nodded, though he was slightly unsure, "alright, bring her inside" he ordered, entering before the woman, "everyone move aside, give us some space!" Asura demanded as all the students he had been teaching did as they were told, while all the students that his siblings had been teaching crowded around behind them. Even his parents, Futami and siblings came to look. Asura placed the blond-haired girl down on the floor and turned to all the watching people, "I need someone to bring me two bowls of clean water, a lot of rags, a small knife and at least four people to hold down her limbs so that I can operate" he stated. Everyone stared at the young man in awe. The youngest Otsutsuki scowled, "now!" he demanded. Everyone scurried away to do their jobs, while the others watched silently.

The girl's mother had tears running down her face, but Hagoromo held her in her arms to comfort her. While he waited for the others to come back with the items he'd requested, Asura took a deep breath. This was his first remotely big operation and he had to remain calm. Steadying his nerves and focusing his Chakra, the brown-haired teen placed his hands into the half Ram hand sign. Once he had sent a sufficient amount of Chakra into his hands he placed them onto the blond child's chest, scanning for the injury. He could scan her easily with his Chakra, but for such an operation he wanted to be able to see what he was doing. As his Chakra ran over the girls internal organs and bones Asura frowned. She had a broken rib on the right side of her chest, bruising on the chest and internal bleeding. Just like he'd thought.

The people that he'd ordered to retrieve the items he'd need began hurrying back in. He nodded at them, "alright, put the first bowl of water near me," he said. When it was placed on the floor next to him, the brown-haired young man dipped his hands into the water and quickly cleaned them, "okay, you can get rid of that water for now" Asura stated. Someone quickly took it outside and threw it away. "Okay, now I need the knife" a woman handed it to him quickly. No one spoke, to give the young man complete silence to concentrate. Pushing up his sleeves Asura took a deep breath and placed one of the rags that he had balled up into the unconscious girls mouth, "alright, here is where it becomes tricky, she is unconscious right now, but the pain may bring her back to consciousness, so you four," he pointed to the four men who were sitting down at each of the child's limbs, "hold her down as hard as possible, and do not let her move, if she can this will become a lot more difficult" everyone nodded and held the child down.

"alright, here I go, "he said to himself. Slowly reaching down, Asura made a quick cut on his patient's chest. The girl flinched slightly, but the people holding her arms and legs kept her still. Absently, the teenager wondered if there was any way to numb pain. Perhaps he could look into it later, right now though he had to concentrate. He placed the knife down and pushed the skin apart so that he could see inside her chest. Blood was pooling in the chest area, just as he'd thought. Focusing Chakra into his hands, the young man turned to the other bowl of water next to him and placed his hand in it. As he lifted his palm, everyone gasped slightly as a bubble of water came away attached to the young Otsutsuki's hand. Placing the palm onto the girl's chest again, he watched as the excess blood slowly began being absorbed into the bubble of water.

As quickly as possible, Asura turned and dropped the dirty water back into the bowl. Turning his attention back to his patient, the brown-haired boy placed his hand onto the child's chest again and began healing the wound where the blood was coming from. Seeing that it had begun bleeding again, Asura knew that he had to heal the broken flesh while he could see it, before removing the rest of the blood. As soon as the wound was healed, he turned to one of the women who was helping him, "get me more clean water please, quickly". The woman nodded, picked up the bowl and ran out of the room as fast as she could. "Rag please, I need to be able to see without swat getting into my eyes" he asked of another person near him. The young man quickly picked up the rag and wiped the sweat from Asura's forehead, "arigato" he replied as the woman came back inside with the fresh water.

The young man repeated the process of removing the excess blood, then scanned the lung to ensure it was healed properly with no more blood inside it. When he was sure that it was free of fluids, he turned his attention to the broken rib. First he scanned the bone and found that it was broken cleanly in half. That was lucky for both Asura in healing the child and the girl herself. This way there were no fragments of the rib bone to cause trouble. What he thought was weird was the fact that every girl he'd scanned had one more rib on the left side than men. In fact all men, including himself had one less rib that women. But he had no time to be thinking about that now. Wrapping his Chakra around the bone, the Otsutsuki took a deep breath, "alright, this may bring her into full consciousness, three, two, one-" giving a sharp tug with his Chakra, Asura pulled the rib back into place in one second.

Thankfully, the little girl stayed unconscious, and the teenager carefully healed the bone and any damage around it. Once it was fully healed, Asura finally healed the cut he had made on her chest and cleaned the blood away as well as his hands. He sat back and sighed, "alright, she is out of danger now, just keep her home for a few days and keep an eye on her condition, if anything happens come back and I will take a look at her" he said, in a weary tone of voice. There was silence for a whole minute after he had finished speaking, before cheers erupted around the training hall: "he did it! he really did it!" one man cried. Asura frowned, "shhhh!" he hissed sternly, "she is trying to rest and just had a risky procedure, do not wake her up!" he demanded. Everyone quieted instantly and looked down in shame.

Asura sighed, "I do not feel like teaching any today, I think I am going to return home and rest" he said, standing up and leaving the hall, with everyone watching in now hushed awe. Hagoromo and Tsukuyomi had twin smiles on their faces, "that is my boy" the red-haired woman said proudly as they watched him leave.

To Be Continued


	36. Chapter 36

16 year old Asura Otsutsuki was relaxing near the river after his training and teaching his class on Medical Jutsu that day. "My Nii-San and Nee-San have changed- if they are this strict all the time, I feel like they are going to alienate everyone" he spoke to himself. "Oh, there you are!" Taizo exclaimed as he ran up. "I was looking for you Asura!" he said. The teen sat up, "are you done with training and teaching your class today?" he asked. The brown-haired young man nodded, "hai, my students have all been doing very well lately, so I decided to give them a day off so that they could practice what I have taught them so far" he replied.

"Besides, I also need a break every now and then" Asura said. Taizo placed a hand on his hip, "I see" he muttered. Asura sighed, "really with all this training, studying, writing down my medical Jutsu and teaching the others, my schedule has been almost completely full lately" he said, but then perked up, "so, what do you need?" he asked. The two-toned-haired teenager shook his head, "it is not that important, you can rest" he said. But the brown-haired young man gained a determined look, "you are my friend, and if I can help you then I want to, besides, we have not been spending much time together since I started being serious about studying" Asura stated. "Oh, well then, I need a favor" Taizo replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Taizo led the Otsutsuki to the forest, "can you use your jutsu to knock down a few tree's around here?" he asked. Asura looked confused, "huh? Why?" Taizo turned to face him, "ah… well… if we clear a path through here, we will have a shortcut to the fields. It will be easier for my Kaa-Chan, and it is no problem for you right?" he said. "Is that all? Leave it to me!" the teen stated confidently.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Using his Wind style jutsu, Asura cut down several trees in the forest, creating an easy path for a person to travel through. "Will this do?" he asked, "yes, you have been a big help" Taizo said, while Asura smiled at his friend, "this kind of thing is easy" he stated.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day found Hagoromo watching a stern-faced Indra who had a beaten and Tied up Taizo at his feet. Heiwa stood next to her brother looking unsure. "Taizo!" Asura exclaimed, rushing down the steps to check on his friend. "Nii-San, what is the meaning of this?!" he demanded. Indra turned to stare impassively at his younger brother with his Sharingan activated, making Asura stop. The eldest turned back to look at the bound man, "this man has committed a crime, he cut down the tree's, treating them as if they were his property- what is in this village belongs to everyone, that is the law" he stated. Heiwa frowned and turned towards her twin, "but Indra, is such a severe punishment really necessary? Could we not just let him off with a harsh reprimand?" she asked.

"After all, from what I have seen, this man did not remove the trees with ill-intent" she continued. Indra was silent for a moment, thinking his sister's words over carefully, before he sighed silently, "alright, he will not be punished this time, as he had no ill intentions, and did what he did due to the circumstances- however, you would be wise not to do this kind of thing again, or I will not be so lenient the next time" he said, and walked away with Heiwa following behind him. Before she was out of sight, the red-haired teenager turned to her younger brother and nodded. Asura smiled back gratefully, before running down the rest of the steps and cutting Taizo's bindings. As he helped his friend up, he looked down, "I am sorry" he said remorsefully.

The black and blond-haired man looked confused, "why?" he asked. "If I had asked for permission to clear the tree's first then this never would have happened" he replied. Taizo placed his hand on his friends shoulder, "no, it is I who should apologize, I- did not tell you the truth about why I wanted the trees cut, it was for my Kaa-Chan, but she is sick and I needed to be able to get her medicine easily, if I had told the truth, we might have been allowed to clear the path without all of this drama" he explained sadly. Asura frowned, "if that was the case, why did you not simply tell me? I could have healed her illness with my medical techniques" he stated.

However Taizo shook his head, "my Kaa-Chan hates any type of Ninshu, she says that this world does not need it" Asura's eyebrows scrunched up, "but still, she cannot think that something that helps people can be so bad?" he asked. The other man bowed his head, "I do not know, however, I do know that she refused every time that I suggested that you heal her" he replied. Asura's frown deepened slightly, "well, at least let me heal _your_ wounds" he said, with concern in his voice, "I know that when Indra-Nii-San is serious he can cause a lot of damage" he replied.

Hagoromo stood and watched as her youngest healed his best friend of his injuries.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

A few months later, there was much excitement in the village of Ninshu. As they gathered around Hagoromo's house, some of her followers whispered to each other: "hey, did you hear?" one asked, "Hagoromo-Sama is finally going to name her successor!" he said excitedly. "Indra-Sama, Hiewa-Sama or Asura-Sama, I wonder which one it will be?" another spoke to himself. "There is no doubt," a bearded man said as he walked up, "it has to be the elder one, Indra-Sama" he stated. The first man frowned, "well, what about Heiwa-Sama then? The two of them are twins, born at the same time, and are just as smart and strong as each other- though I must admit that Heiwa-Sama is far nicer than Indra-Sama" he replied.

Inside the temple, Hagoromo sat before her children, her husband and Futami on either side of her and her younger sister next to her husband. All three Otsutsuki siblings sat straight and still, even Asura. While he would prefer not to be the heir, he knew how important this decision was, so he respected his mother and stayed silent. All of Hagoromo's pupils at in straight lines beside the wall of the room, watching, waiting. The Sage took a deep breath, "it is time to begin," she said, handing her two sons one scroll each, "Heiwa, you will go with your twin" she replied to the teenager's questioning look. Hagoromo knew that Indra and Heiwa worked well together, and that the presence of his twin sister was likely to keep her eldest in check, if not help him make the right decisions".

As the two boys unfurled the scrolls, all three of them looked shocked as they read the contents. Indra looked up first, "Kaa-Sama, what is this?" he asked. "During the battle where your uncle and I fought and sealed away our Kaa-Sama, parts of the Juubi's Chakra were scattered throughout the world and took root there once more as the Divine Tree. We repaired most of these lands throughout our journey, however within those scrolls are maps to two different regions which still need to be fixed" Hagoromo explained, as her children read them in more detail. "Indra, Heiwa and Asura, you will each go to one of these two lands and settle whatever problem has occurred there, and after I see your results, I will decide to whom I entrust Ninshu" she finished.

"Now, go" Hagoromo said.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra, Heiwa and Asura walked together until they reached the place where the path split. Indra turned to his younger brother, "well, take care of yourself Otouto, I do not know what Kaa-Sama has in mind, but we will find out when we return" he said. Asura nodded, "thank you, and you both be careful as well, I hope to see you soon" he replied. The twins nodded to their younger brother, then took off running down one path. The youngest turned his attention back to the road in front of him. He took a deep breath, "well, I must go sometime" he muttered to himself, and began walking away from the home and family he had known all his life.

Up on the short cliff where they were standing, Hagoromo, Tsukuyomi, Kagura and Gamamaru watched the tree leave. "The younger one seems genuinely kind-hearted, and even has a fairly high intelligence to create Medical techniques of such high caliber, the elder one inherited the Sharingan and his twin the Dead-bone-pulse- while Indra's more invested in becoming strong, Heiwa seems to be his balancing factor, keeping the boy level-headed and helping him make the right decisions, in other words, she's his other half" the now larger toad spoke to himself, then turned to his old pupil, "what is it that you want to test?" he asked. Hagoromo shook her head, "you misunderstand, this is not a test, it is as simple as wanting the two to grow and mature, to find their own paths, and perhaps change their way of thinking- I know that Indra can do many things on his own, but with Heiwa with him, he will think more rationally, and Heiwa will work well with her twin brother, though it may also force her to take the lead more often, as she does not like to speak against Indra, and sometimes that is necessary. Asura on the other hand cannot do anything by himself and will probably need the help of those around him, but he is good at bonding with others and making friends, though mostly unsure of himself, with companions backing him up, I know that he will rise to the occasion," she paused and closed her eyes.

"I have a feeling that these experiences will change all three for the better- and that is exactly what I am hoping will happen" Hagoromo finished.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Asura was walking through the forest, but he paused when he sensed a familiar presence. Turning to the trees beside him, he spoke, "enough already, I know that you are there, so come out". Taizo walked out from behind the tree dressed for travelling. He scratched the back of his head, "you knew I was their?" he asked. Asura nodded, "of course, I am a sensor after all, I felt your presence," he replied, then frowned, "are you alright?" the brown-haired 16 year old asked. Taizo nodded, "yeah, I am fine, I wanted to thank your sister before she left, but since she is already gone I suppose it does not matter, anyway, I want come with you on your journey" he said seriously.

The teenager crossed his arms over his chest, "but your Kaa-San is sick, is she not?" he asked. Taizo smiled, "she is fine now, the medicine really worked, she is back to her lively self now. So I told her about you and what you did for us, and she said that I should help you" he explained. Asura's eyebrow rose in confusion, "but I though your Kaa-San hated Ninshu" he replied. Taizo nodded, "she does, but you are my friend, and that and this are two different things" he said. Asura smiled, "arigato, I would be glad to have you for company Taizo" he said happily. Then the two continued on their way together.

To Be Continued


	37. Chapter 37

Asura and Taizo continued on their long journey, travelling through the forest, harsh blizzards, burning desert with a sandstorm attempting to impede their travel. They stopped in a rocky area just past another forest, drinking from their canteens and Asura checking the map. "According to the map, we should be getting close" he said, before rolling it back up and putting it away. As the two walked through the rocky land, Taizo took out the water to have another drink. Unfortunately there was only a drop left. "We are in trouble, we are our of water" he said.

Asura looked back at his friend, "do not worry," he said calmly. "How can I not?" Taizo asked, "you cannot use water jutsu, can you?" The Otsutsuki shook his head, "no, I can only use wind jutsu" he replied. "Well then-" Taizo started, but Asura cut him off by looking forwards again, "it is near… the Divine Tree" he explained. Taizo looked confused, "huh?" he asked. "I can sense it with my Chakra, Kaa-Sama once told me, that the Chakra that we use came from the Divine Tree" he said. Looking up, Asura saw a ledge and ran towards it, Taizo following behind.

When they reached the edge, the two saw a small village with a big tree behind it, "it looks like we made it" Asura said.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

As they walked down the hill into the forest surrounding the village, Taizo looked around, "this is a surprise!" he said in wonder, "to find a place so fertile right in the middle of such a barren land, how could a village like this be struggling like Hagoromo-Sama mentioned?" he asked himself and Asura. Suddenly the Otsutsuki stopped and looked around with sharp eyes, "what is wrong?" Taizo asked. Asura narrowed his eyes, "we are surrounded" he said. "What?" the black and blond-haired man asked, looking around.

Suddenly many people came out of the trees carrying farming tools, like ploughs and spades. "Who are you?!" one man demanded. Asura held up his hands in a 'we mean no harm' manner, "we are not here to cause trouble, we are just travelers" he said in an attempt to placate the villagers. One man stepped forward, "we have had a lot of robbers around here that have been targeting our village lately!" he said angrily. "We are not robbers, please believe us" Asura said calmly. "Never mind, get them!" one man yelled, as they charged.

"Gah!" Taizo exclaimed in fear, he wasn't good at fighting, despite his strong appearance, his muscles were hone from chopping firewood and such, and he was not good at fighting. "Taizo, get to the top of a tree!" Asura orders as he dodged one of the villager's attacks. The young man wasted no time talking and ran screaming to a tree, dodging all the attacks sent his way and beginning to climb it quickly. "Stop this! I have no intention to harm you!" Asura cried, still trying to get the people to listen. The only girl of the group spoke up, "then leave this village now!" she cried. Asura saw the man behind him with a shovel run towards him, and he lept out of the way just in time.

However, his quick dodge meant that the other man couldn't stop in time and he hit the teenage girl in the arm instead, making a deep cut in the flesh with the sharp edge. She cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. Asura gasped in horror and ran over to the teen, "are you alright?" he asked worriedly. The young woman looked up at him angrily, "do not touch me!" she demanded. The teenager knelt down, "it is alright, I can heal you" he replied, forming the concentration hand sign, then placed his hand on the wound. Blue Chakra enveloped his hand and the wound began healing. "That is amazing" the girl whispered, staring at the glow and her own wound healing. An old man walked up to the group, "what is going on?" he asked. The teenage girl turned to the man, "meiyo choro-Sama (honorable elder)" she said.

Asura stood up as Taizo came running up to his friend after climbing down the tree.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

They were sitting in the elders house, with a large tray of food each. "Wow! What a feast!" Taizo exclaimed, "we can really eat all of this?" he asked excitedly, he was starving! The elder chuckled, "please do not hesitate, eat." He said, then sighed slightly, "I apologize for the rudeness earlier" he said. Asura sat up straight, "do not worry about it, but I must say that it is a shock to see such a fertile patch in this barren land" he replied.

"This village is special" the elder replied mysteriously. "Special?" Taizo asked. The old man picked up his staff and stood up, "anyway, there is nothing much to do here, but please have a relaxing stay" he said as he went outside. Asura was getting strange vibes from the village and its people as he turned back to his food.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The next day Asura got up and left the house they had been given in the village for the duration of their stay. Taizo followed him, yawning, "you are up early Asura" he said. The young man looked forwards, "this is a wonderful place, the food and water taste great, and the girl that you saved it quite beautiful" he said, "there are no issues here". Asura frowned and folded his arms, "yes, but I still feel it… coming from over their" he said. Taizo turned to his friend, "feel what?" he asked. The Otsutsuki looked up, "Chakra" he replied.

The other man followed Asura's gaze, and saw the huge tree that grew behind the village, "and the Divine Tree is their?" he asked. "Probably" Asura answered.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Later, the two were walking up the mountain where the Divine Tree was. When they came up to the midway point, they saw a small hut and two men came out holding long wooden sticks, "hey, where are you going?" the one with a shaven head and no shirt on asked. "I would like to go that hill" Asura said passively, pointing towards it with a finger. The larger man pointed his stick at him, "you cannot, Meiyo-choro-Sama says that no one is to go near there" he replied. "Oh, really" Taizo said. The other man pointed his stick at Asura as well, "please leave!" he demanded.

Taizo walked up and placed his hand on Asura's shoulder, "let us go, Asura" he said. The brown-haired man made a noise of agreement, then they turned and walked away. "Something is suspicious" Taizo said quietly. "Maybe there is something after all" Asura replied just as quietly. As they made their way down the mountain, they came across the dark-haired young woman from before. She looked up at them impassively. Taizo pointed at her, "oh! You are the woman from yesterday! Perfect timing, we are planning on staying in this village for a while, so I am hoping that you can show us around," he said, walking down to her, "my name is Taizo, and this is Asura-" but he was cut off when the woman went up to his friend.

"My name is Kanna, are you a doctor?" she asked. "Well, I know medical techniques" he answered. Taizo came up to them, "he knows Ninshu" he explained. "Ninshu? Oh, I see, so that is what it was…" she said. "Can you heal illnesses with that too?" Kanna asked, somewhat desperately. Asura nodded, "hai, I can" he replied. "Come with me" the woman said.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

They followed Kanna to two buildings with cloths hanging in front of the entrances. "Where are we?" Asura asked curiously. "A medical clinic" the dark-haired woman replied. She turned to Asura, "I want you to cure my Kaa-San's illness" she said. Inside the clinic there were many people, seeming to be unconscious. They were all pale with gaunt skin. Kanna knelt down next to a woman, "Kaa-San," she said softly, reaching out and stroking the woman's cheek gently, "she has been unconscious for a long time" Kanna said sadly.

Asura knelt down next to Kanna and picked up her mother's hand. Their seemed to be white roots growing over and out from her hands, _'what is this?'_ he thought, _'I sense a strong Chakra, could this be from the Divine Tree?'_ the teenage Otsutsuki placed his hands into the concentration hand sign, then took hold of the older woman's hand again. Blue Chakra enveloped the woman. Asura grit his teeth, but his Chakra did not seem to do anything and he stopped channeling it. He gently placed the woman's hand back down, "I am sorry, I cannot heal this" he said remorsefully.

Asura stood back up as Kanna look back down at her mother sadly, "I see". The Otsutsuki looked around at all the people, as Taizo walked towards the other end of the clinic where the other entrance was. "Are they all like your Kaa-San?" Asura asked. Kanna looked up at him, "yes" she answered softly. Taizo pulled the cloth aside and looked out the back entrance, "Asura, come here" he said. The two stared at all the graves where those who had died of the illness were buried, "these are graves right? No wonder this place felt so creepy" the black and blond-haired man said.

"This illness caused all of these deaths?" Asura asked. "Yes" Kanna answered as she came out to join them at the morbid sight. "I have no choice, I have to go" the Otsutsuki said.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The guards from before were standing watch. Suddenly Asura appeared behind them, and they turned around with a gasp, "you are!-" they said. The brown-haired teen placed his hands in a hand sign, "sorry, but I am afraid that you will have to go to sleep now" he said. Nothing happened. The young man tried again, then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "uh, what were the sleeping jutsu hand signs again?" he asked himself. Suddenly two thuds were heard. Turning back around, Asura saw Taizo with a plank of wood in his hand, and Kanna shyly holding hers behind her back while the two guards were out cold on the ground.

"This way is much faster" his friend said, while Asura chuckled slightly. The three walked up the hill until they came to the top. In front of them was the branch of the Divine Tree sticking up out of the ground, with a hole dug into the ground beneath it. The small group walked up to it, "there is a cave here," Taizo said, "let us take a look". The three walked down the cave, climbing and edging around branches of the Divine Tree as they went further and further down. Finally they came to another opening, this one lading down to a large pool of- something. "What is this place?" Taizo asked. "I did not imagine that it would be like this inside! I have heard legends about the Divine Tree, but…"

As they came down to the round platform of rock in the center, Asura gasped, "this is!" he paused, "there is no doubt. This is the Divine Tree" he said in the most serious tone of voice either of his companions had ever heard from him.

To Be Continued


	38. Chapter 38

The group of three stood in the area under the ground where they had found the Divine tree. "My Chakra is reacting strongly" Asura said. Kanna knelt down and stared at the stuff that was pooling around the small platform where they stood, "what is this?" she asked. "It is what was growing on the sick people," Asura explained, then looked up at the tree again, "I see! That sap from the Divine Tree has seeped into the soil. It acts like a fertilizer, making this area a lush oasis in the middle of such a barren region" he said. "The Divine Tree is making the land fertile?" Taizo asked, "so… has the Divine Tree gotten its power back?" he wondered aloud.

"No, it has not completely revived," Asura looked down, "but it probably will eventually" he said. "The real problem is-" the youngest Otsutsuki said, "is what?" Taizo asked. "The people are becoming contaminated" Asura replied. "Contaminated?" the other man asked. "The people and animals eat the produce grown on this land, which has absorbed the sap of the Divine Tree" the brown-haired teenager explained. "So does that mean… if you eat the food here, you will become sick?" Taizo demanded. "Probably" Asura said. The black and blond haired man collapsed to his knees and gagged, "but I ate so much yesterday!"he cried, feeling like he was going to throw up. Asura turned to his friend, "do not worry, my healing can take care of a small amount," he paused and turned to look at Kanna, "but if you keep ingesting and accumulating the sap for many years-" he cut himself off.

Taizo stood up shakily, still trying to push the thought that they'd been pretty much poisoned since they got here out of his mind, "since the village elder ordered for this place to be under watch, does that mean that he knows about everything?" he asked. "So it seems" Asura replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

The three stood before the village elder, seeking some answers as to why he would keep this kind of thing a secret, especially in regards to his people's health. "I see- you saw the Divine Tree" he said. "Yes" Asura replied, "traveler, why do you keep digging into our village secrets?" the old man asked. "Forgive me, I am from the village of Ninshu and was told to come here" Asura replied. "Ninshu?" the elder asked, standing up, "the Ninshu that destroyed the land 20 years ago… you are a pupil?" he asked, pointing at the brown-haired man. "I am a pupil yes, but Ninshu did not destroy the land, that was the Juubi, and my Kaa-San and Oji-San fought against it to protect everyone- Ninshu was something that my Kaa-Sama created to connect people and bring peace, it is not a weapon" Asura replied calmly.

"Meiyo-Choro-Sama, to be blunt, that tree is a narcotic, it feeds off the energy of the land and people, making the land seem abundant when in reality, it is as sick as the people. At this rate-" he paused, and the old man began speaking again, "young man, I already know this, however I cannot allow that tree to be destroyed" he replied. "Why is that?" Asura asked. "That tree started to grow powerfully several decades ago. Until then, this was arid and barren land, we had terrible droughts nearly every year. I have lost count of how many died of starvation" the elder explained. Asura walked up to the old man, "why do you not try digging a well?" he asked. The old man looked down and closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them and looking up, "it was futile" he replied. "Was?" Asura repeated. "We tried ages ago. One could dig for months, only to hit the solid bedrock that runs across this land, if we cut down that tree now, what will happen to us?" he asked, while Asura frowned.

"I cannot tell the villagers that we will be returning to those days of hunger and suffering, besides, even if I told the truth, the villagers will not believe me." The elder looked down and closed his eyes sadly, "traveler, do not get involved any further… it will be best if you leave as soon as possible".

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Asura, Taizo and Kanna left the village elder's house, "Kanna, how do you feel?" the Otsutsuki asked. "About what?" Kanna asked. "In time, you will become infected by the Divine Tree" Asura replied. "And? We have no other choice! There is nowhere else for us to go! We just have to endure and live with it!" Kanna exclaimed. Asura didn't reply, he just went over to the other villagers, "please listen everyone! Do you know the truth behind the Divine Tree?" he asked. Taizo stepped forwards, "hey, Asura!" he said worriedly, "the Divine Tree is akin to a parasite, it feeds off the life force of everything in its vicinity, as well as being the source of the illness affecting the people at the clinic. If you continue to rely on its power, you will all die sooner rather than later" the Otsutsuki explained.

"Are you okay with that?!" he demanded to know. The bald man stepped up, "everyone, do not listen to this guy!" he pointed at Asura, "these two came from the village of Ninshu!" he cried. Another villager pointed at the Otsutsuki, "they ravaged the world, and now they want to take the Divine Tree from us!" he exclaimed angrily. "We cannot let them do that!" one man yelled, "get out of here!" another demanded, as the people began throwing rocks at the two, who used their arms to try to block the stones from hitting their faces, "what do you think would happen to us if the Divine Tree was gone?!" someone else yelled, "get lost!" another man cried angrily. "Asura, let us get out of here!" Taizo exclaimed. The two quickly ran away from the village, the angry shouts following them.

Kanna watched them go.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Back at the Otsutsuki Clan house, Futami was helping look after the compound- currently he was sweeping the leaves on the ground, "I hope Master Indra, Mistress Heiwa and Master Asura are alright" he said to himself. Up on the veranda of her house, Hagoromo and Gamamaru sat together. The toad was drinking Sake, but the female Sage found that the taste was too strong for her liking, so she drank tea instead. "Sister, where did you send those three?" Gamamaru asked. Hagoromo lifted her cup and took a sip of her tea, allowing the sweet and nutty flavor of this particular type linger on her tongue for a moment before swallowing, "simply put, villages burdened with the same problem," she began, "I wish to see how they resolve it".

"I see," Gamamaru replied, "be honest, have you already decided which one will succeed you?" he asked. Hagoromo took another sip of tea and smiled slightly, "as a matter of fact I have, and unless you have had any new dreams lately, you will just have to wait along with everyone else to find out" she replied as her smile turned sly. The toad rolled his eyes, before turning and jumping onto the ground, "well then, I guess I'll be leaving" the large toad said. He climbed into the water jar, barely managing to fit into it and vanished. Hagoromo studied the green leaves on the trees for a moment, before bringing her tea to her lips and finishing the last of it.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _(Meanwhile, with Indra and Heiwa)_

At the village the twins had been sent to, Indra and Heiwa stood in front of the piece of the Divine Tree, with all the villagers watching them. The red-haired twin looked at all of them, "so, have you made up your mind yet?" she asked. The village leader walked up to the two, "we have, if this tree is truly killing both us and the land as you say, then I see no reason to leave it here" the man replied.

Indra stared impassively at them, "very well, allow me to help you destroy it" he stated. The young 17 year old turned to face the Divine Tree and formed the tiger hand sign. Indra took a deep breath, and then blew out a stream of highly controlled white hot flames. The flamethrower engulfed the tree and the group watched as it burned to ashes.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _(Back with Asura and Taizo)_

Asura stood on the cliff above the village, looking out at it and the Divine Tree. Taizo walked up with a sigh, "come on Asura, let us go" he said. The man walked up to his friend, "let us just go and have a carefree journey" he stated. Asura hummed in thought as he turned to face Taizo. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "uh-huh" he said distractedly. Taizo pointed at the Divine Tree, "if you are that concerned, just sneak over there and destroy the tree!" he yelled in frustration.

"You have the power to do that, do you not?" he asked. "But then, the villagers will-" Asura stated, pausing mid-sentence. "They will suffer sure, but they are going to die soon!" Taizo replied. The brown-haired teen placed his hand on his chin, "that is right, Kaa-Sama never said to destroy the Divine Tree," he said to himself in thought. Taizo looked confused as Asura lit up with realization, "she said to solve the problem, and the only way to do that-" the brown-haired Otsutsuki turned to his friend, "would be to build a well! If they had fresh water, they would not have to rely on the water from the Divine Tree!" The black and blond-haired man turned to Asura, "are you serious?! You heard the elder! The ground is solid bedrock and you cannot dig a well!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, but Kaa-Sama told me that only we could decide how to use our Chakra- I have decided to do this for these people, they do not deserve this life- if I can do something, then I must, I cannot just do nothing" Asura replied. "I have decided, I am going to do what I believe is right!" he exclaimed exuberantly. Then he turned back to look at the village, a wide grin on his face, "even if it takes me years! He **would** save this village, that he swore!

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Back at the Otsutsuki Clan compound, Hagoromo's followers were running excitedly to the gate, "it is Indra-Sama and Heiwa-Sama!" one man cried, "they have returned!". The two walked calmly back into the compound, where they were met by their father and Futami, "I am so glad that you are both alright!" Tsukuyomi exclaimed in a relieved tone. Their Sensei nodded, "so am I" he added. "Where is Asura?" Indra asked. "He has not returned yet" Tsukuyomi replied, Indra pulled down his scarf and Heiwa removed her woolen hat and shook her hair out, "I see" she replied, slightly worried about her Otouto, but she knew that he was strong.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _(Back with Asura)_

Kanna was walking down the mountain from where she had finished collecting fire wood. Looking to the side, she saw Taizo moving bags of something. "Is that?- do not tell me that he is!-" she paused and removed her load, then went over to where she was sure the Otsutsuki was as a loud boom was heard from that direction and a cloud of smoke erupted into the air. Meanwhile, Asura was using his Wind Style Chakra to dig into the ground. Kanna hurried up, "Asura!" she cried. Taizo turned to look at the young woman along with his friend, "oh, Kanna" the Otsutsuki said when he looked up. Asura stood to his feet and turned to the blue-haired teenager, "what are you doing?!" she demanded.

"Can you not tell?" the young man asked, climbing out of the hole, "I am digging a well" he explained. The brown-haired teen sighed in exhaustion and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Are you serious?" Kanna asked. "Yes, if you have water, you will not have to rely on the Divine Tree," he replied. The teen turned back to the Otsutsuki, "that is impossible, the villagers have tried digging for years." Kanna looked down, "and they have never found water". Taizo rubbed the back of his head, "I have already told him that," he replied, smiling apologetically, "but once he gets an idea, he just will not listen" the young man replied. Asura grinned, "it does not matter whether it is possible or not. I have decided to do it!" he replied. He waved, "see you Kanna" and jumped back into the hole.

Gathering Wind Chakra into his palm, Asura slammed it into the ground. At the top of the hole, Kanna smiled a fake smile, "are you two, stupid?" she asked, turning to face Taizo. The young man's eyebrow twitched, "are you two… stupid?" she asked, "I do not know about myself, but he defiantly is" he replied.

Another explosion erupted from the hole.

To Be Continued


	39. Chapter 39

Asura slammed the ball of Wind Chakra into the ground. Once the ball had dissipated, the young man stood up, _'even if it takes a year, I will make it happen'_ he thought determinedly.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _(Back at the Otsutsuki Compound)_

Indra and Heiwa, refreshed from their journey and now in clean clothes walked into their old training hall. The two knelt down before their parents and Futami, "Kaa-Sama, we have returned" Indra said. "Welcome back, how did it go?" Hagoromo asked. It was Heiwa that answered, "we were able to convince the populous that they had no use for the Divine Tree and that it was effecting them adversely- then Indra burned it with his Fire Style Jutsu" she explained.

The Sage nodded in understanding, "were there any problems?" she asked. Indra shook his head, "no, none, the village has begun to return to normal" he said. Futami turned to his friend, "Hagoromo-Sama," he started, since he respected his friend more than anything, "Indra-Sama and Heiwa-Sama have returned first, does this mean that the successor of Ninshu is-" he was cut off when the woman shook her head, "I am not interested in how fast things were resolved- what I am interested in are results," she looked at the twins, "tell me about your journey and about what happened when you reached your destination" she requested.

Heiwa nodded, "hai Kaa-Sama" then the two began taking it in turns explaining what had happened.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

A year passed slowly by, with Indra and Heiwa continuing to train their students, and Asura's students practicing what they had already learned. Futami went to visit his friend and kneeled down in front of the woman, "Hagoromo-Sama, it has been one year since Asura-Sama set out on his journey, but he has not returned. Your pupils are becoming restless, perhaps you should decide on a successor…" he said. "I realize that, and I have already decided on my successor, however, I cannot announce it until Asura returns" she replied.

"No one will abject to Indra-Sama or Hiewa-Sama, may I ask why it is that you insist on waiting for Asura-Sama?" Futami asked. "For my decision, I need all three of them to have returned- do not worry, Asura will return soon" Hagoromo explained. Suddenly both heard a commotion nearby. Several of Hagoromo's students came running excitedly into the hall, "Hagoromo-Sama!" one cried. Futami turned to look at the small group, "what is going on?" he asked.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

"Indra-Sama, Hiewa-Sama!" one man cried, running up the hill where the two were watching some of their students train. The two stopped and turned to look at the man at the same time the twins did, "Asura-Sama has returned!" he exclaimed. Heiwa lit up, their Otouto was back!

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Everyone ran out the front towards to gate, well, everyone except for Hagoromo that is. It was spring now, and the Sakura trees were in full bloom, the petals from their flowers gently floating to the ground and creating a carpet of pink. Asura, Taizo and several more people walked inside the compound, with Asura waving happily, "hey!" he exclaimed. "It is not just Asura-Sama, there are so many with him!" one man exclaimed. Among the group was the bald man, whose name they had discovered was Yue, and Kanna.

"I recognize Taizo, but who are the others?" another asked. Hagoromo walked to side of the Training Hall and watched her youngest son enter with his entourage. As Asura walked towards the hall, Futami, Tsukuyomi and the others came up. His former teacher bowed, "welcome back" he said. Tsukuyomi smiled at his son, "well, you certainly took your time son" he said. Asura smiled and scratched the back of his head, "forgive me Tou-Sama, there was a lot to do" he replied. The silver-haired man shook his head, "it is no problem at all Asura, anyway, please go and see Hagoromo" he replied. "What?" the brown-haired teenager asked, "has he not chosen one of my other siblings yet?" Futami shook his head, "is Kaa-Sama still-?" he cut himself off and looked down. "She has been waiting all this time for your return Asura-Sama" Hagoromo's first Ninshu follower explained. "I see" Asura replied.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Hagoromo, Tsukuyomi, the Sages followers and Indra and Heiwa sat in the hall waiting. Asura and the friends he'd made entered the hall. The teen smiled, "Kaa-Sama, I have returned" he stated. Hagoromo smiled, "you have become very dignified Asura" she said. Indra smirked, "we got tired waiting for you Otouto" he said. Heiwa smiled, "Asura Otouto! You are alright!" she said happily. The brown-haired 17 year old smiled sheepishly, "forgive me everyone, it took me longer than I thought to resolve the problem" he explained as he went and took his seat on the floor next to his siblings.

"Who are those people?" Hagoromo asked. Asura turned to look at the people who had joined him on his journey back home, "oh, yes. These are some of the villagers, they all helped me, and are now valuable friends" the youngest Otsutsuki replied, "also, the girl, Kanna, is my fiancé, we would like your blessing and permission to be wed Kaa-Sama" he explained, while said young woman blushed with a shy smile on her face. Hagoromo smiled, "of course, I would be happy to give you my blessing Musuko-Kun, but first we have business to get to" she replied, while Tsukuyomi smiled at his son as well. The red-haired woman turned to face her youngest son, "Asura, let me hear your story" she requested.

"Hai. The village that I went to relied on water from the Divine Tree, causing many to get sick and die. So I decided to dig a well: _(flashback)_

 _Standing in fairly deep hole, Asura stood panting and covered in dirt. Kanna bent down, "Asura! are you seriously going to dig a well!?" she asked. Asura turned to look at the young woman with determined eyes, "it is what I have decided!" he said, turning back to continue his work._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Later that day, Kanna returned to the village and went to the elder's house. Entering inside, the young woman saw the elder along with Yue and two other men. The elder turned around. Kanna nodded. At the well site, another explosion blew up into the air. The elder, Kanna and some of the other villagers walked with determined faces towards the well site with most of them carrying assorted tools for digging. At the hole, Taizo climbed one of the ladders with a large bag of the rubble that had been dug up. At the top he placed his bag down with a sigh, arching his back when he was free of the load and wiping the sweat from his forehead._

 _Looking up, Taizo saw the villagers coming their way. Asura climbed up the other ladder with a bag of rocks of his own on his back and noticed the group coming their way. He walked up to his friend, who looked angry and guarded, "what the hell? Are they back to throw rocks at us?" he asked stepping forward. But Asura stopped him by placing a hand on his friends shoulder, "wait" the Otsutsuki said. The villagers walked up and stared at the two while Asura placed the bag of rocks he was carrying down._

 _The group walked up, "you" Asura said as he looked around at the villagers surrounding them. "We will help you," one man said, "since it is for our village". Asura moved back slightly, not having expected this in the least, "if you can, could you teach us Ninshu as well?" the bald man from before asked. Asura and Taizo looked at each other, before the brown-haired teenager turned back to the man, and smiled sheepishly with a blush on his face while rubbing the back of his head, "uh-huh" he replied. The elder and Kanna smiled. Later, to help with the digging and such, Asura decided to teach everyone Ninshu and share his Chakra with them._

 _The Otsutsuki taught the villagers the hand signs, and let them create their own jutsu from there, under his careful watch of course. Many of the women, especially Kanna wanted to learn medical jutsu, which Asura was very thorough with teaching them. Using this Chakra, the group was able to provide much more assistance in digging the well, and they even built a wench to bring the rocks up when they got too far down to carry bags up. A year passed and they were still working, when suddenly, Asura stood and held up his hand, "everyone, please be quiet". All activity stopped and they all watched as Asura knelt close to the ground and placed his head on it. Taizo came up to the edge of the hole, "what is the matter Asura?" he asked. The young an lent back up, "can you hear it?" he asked, "that sound…" the brown-haired man gathered his Chakra into a ball of wind between his hands._

 _Then the Otsutsuki slammed the technique into the ground and dug a little deeper. Then he pulled his hand out of the small hole he'd made. Water came bubbling up to the surface, "it is water!" he cried in triumph, as everyone gasped. "What is it?" one man asked, "what has happened?" another questioned. Asura went to the edge and climbed up the ladder out of the hole as it filled up with water. Kanna came to meet him. "This is-!" she exclaimed happily as everyone smiled and looked on in wonder. "Water! We hit water! We did it! we did it!" were the cries of all the villagers. Kanna ran up to the brown-haired teenager and hugged him, "you did it Asura!" she exclaimed in joy. "We did it!" Asura cheered along with everyone else, with a bright grin on his face. After a year of hard work, they had done it!_

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _The 'well' soon transformed into a large lake. Later, at the medical clinics, Asura, Kanna, another woman and an elderly woman worked together to heal those infected by the Divine Tree, while Taizo watched. The first one they healed was Kanna's mother. As they healed her the roots on her hands disappeared and her face twitched, before she slowly opened her eyes. Kanna's eyes widened, "Kaa-San" she said as tears welled up in her eyes. The woman took her daughter's hand and smiled at her, "Kanna" she said lovingly. "Kaa-San!" the blue-haired teen exclaimed, bursting into joyful tears and hugging her mother happily. Asura smiled as he watched them._

 ** _ĤŎ_**

 _Soon after that, the villagers gladly burned the Divine Tree into a pile of ashes, with everyone coming to watch. "We are finally free from the curse" the village elder said. Everyone began cheering and laughing happily._

 _(End flashback)_

"I see" Hagoromo said after Asura had finished telling his story. "So the Ninshu that you spread to the villagers helped save many people's lives" the Sage of the Six Paths said. Asura, still smiling quickly replied, "hai!" and looked back at his fiancé. Kanna smiled back and nodded. "I will now name my successor" Hagoromo said. "My successor shall be, Indra, Heiwa," Indra raised an eyebrow, while Heiwa opened her mouth in shock, but the head of the Otsutsuki Clan wasn't finished yet, "and Asura, all three of you". Indra and Heiwa's eyes were wide, while Asura looked to be in disbelief, "huh?" he asked. "Huh?" Tsukuyomi asked. " ** _huh?!_** " everyone cried together. No one had expected that.

To Be Continued


	40. Chapter 40

The three stared at their mother. "K-Kaa-Sama, are you serious?" Asura asked. Hagoromo nodded, "yes I am- all three of you possess different qualities, though none of you has all the qualities needed to become the heir of Ninshu alone, together, all your abilities and qualities make you the perfect leaders that my beliefs need," the woman smiled, "I believe that you can continue bringing peace to this world- together" she explained. Indra was the first to snap out of his shock and sent a curious look to his mother, "the only way true peace will be achieved, is through cooperation, which Heiwa is able to do with anyone, Asura is abundant in love and care, while Indra's power will be beneficial for protecting everyone".

All three looked elated. For Asura, this was fine. He would have the help of his siblings, and be able to help people. Indra was pleased that his mother accepted the fact that he was different from his brother, and still gave him a chance to do things his way with help from his twin sister and younger brother. Heiwa was glad that she could help her brothers and that Hagoromo didn't just see her as able to work well with her twin. She could work well with everyone, because she recognized that they each had their own strengths and weaknesses and that to be strong, you had to cover for each other and work together. "I believe that the three of you will be able to do together what one alone cannot, work together, and keep the peace in this world" Hagoromo finished. All three smiled and bowed, "hai, Kaa-Sama" they spoke together.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Later, Indra had gone to his cave where he trained. Heiwa smiled as she went to get him. There was going to be a celebration for their becoming the heirs on Ninshu that night, and the red-haired woman was going to fetch her twin and go together with him to the party. As she reached the door to the room where she could sense Indra's Chakra coming from, Heiwa reached forwards to knock, only to stop when she sensed the two Chakra's of her brother's students in there with him. Deciding to wait until they were finished before she knocked, the red-haired young woman stepped back slightly.

"Why?" she heard Indra say from inside the room. Curiosity won out, and Heiwa crept forwards to stare into the room through a crack in the door. "Why did Kaa-Sama choose all three of us? Asura is not a good leader, there was no need to make more than one person the leader?" he asked. "Exactly!" one of her brother's students exclaimed. In fact those two were the closest to friends Indra had. "The one with power rules the world that is just common sense!" the same man said. Heiwa frowned slightly. That- was not entirely true. One of the men walked forwards, "let us appeal to Hagoromo-Sama again" he said, placing one hand on the young man's shoulder. The other also walked forwards and placed his and on Indra's other shoulder, "we will support you!" he said confidently.

"Thank you, both of you" the black-haired young man said. "There is no need to thank us, we just want to support you" the man with the shaven head said, "yes, just tell us anything that you want us to do" the other man requested. "Really?" Indra asked. He turned around faster than Heiwa could see and in an instant trust his two lightening coated hands through the hearts of his only friends. Blood splattered everywhere, and Heiwa's eyes widened in shock and horror. She clamped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming, vomiting or both. Indra's Sharingan eyes glowed in the candlelight, before they began to spin into a new pattern, ending in a red six-pointed star over a black background. Tears welled up in the red-haired woman's eyes at what her beloved twin brother had just done. Indra looked down at his hands, "so this is the ultimate form of the Sharingan then" he said in reverence of his own power.

A black shape materialized from the floor, **_"see, I told you that you could become more powerful if you killed them"_** it said. Indra turned to who Heiwa now recognized as the person/creature, whatever it was that had been visiting them lately, "it would seem that you were right, I owe you my thanks" he said. _'Thanks? But that is the creature that threatened Asura and hurt him before, why would Indra be thanking it?'_ Heiwa thought to herself. Indra turned to the door, **_"Hagoromo did not choose all three of you because she wanted you all to become the heirs, she chose all three of you because she fears your power and did not trust you to be the heir on your own"_** the black person said. Indra narrowed his eyes "it is time to get what is rightfully mine" he said, beginning to walk towards it.

Heiwa panicked _'he just killed his only friends, what if he kills me as well?'_ she thought. Turning away from the door, the woman began to run as fast as she could, _'I have to tell Kaa-Sama and Otouto about this right away!'_ she thought desperately.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

That night there was a great celebration. Everyone partied, ate and laughed. The three who the celebration was for however, had not joined in just yet. Asura was the only one there, as his two older siblings had left a short time after Hagoromo had announced her choice. The teenager sat before his mother "Asura, you and your siblings will bring great change to this world- weather that will be good or bad, I do not know, but I pray that together you will be able to keep peace in this world," the woman stood up, "that is why," she paused and walked over the her youngest, "I will now entrust my power to you" she said, reaching out and placing her hand on the boys head.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Meanwhile, Kanna was looking for her fiancé, "Asura! Where did he go?" she wondered. Suddenly, the woman saw someone running towards the compound. Squinting, she barely had time to make out the identity of the person as Heiwa, before the woman sped past her. The red-haired woman rushed through the crowd and into the hall where her mother and brother were, "Kaa-Sama! Asura!" she cried, rushing straight into her mother's arms. Hagoromo easily caught her daughter, "Heiwa, what is the matter?" she asked, having a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The red-haired younger woman looked up with wide terror-filled eyes, tears streaming down her face, "Kaa-Sama! Indra has gone insane! He- he," the woman gasped and bit back a sob, while trying to catch her breath.

"Shh now, what did Indra do?" Hagoromo asked. Heiwa trembled, "he has gone insane! He killed his two friends and wants to kill Asura to take the title of heir for himself! A-and his eyes! His eyes changed! H-he, he-" the young woman couldn't say anymore, and collapsed into hysterical sobbing. The Sage of the Six Paths tried to calm her daughter, but Heiwa wouldn't be soothed, "he is going to kill us all!" she cried, terrified. Asura started with wide eyes at his older sister, "what? Why would Nii-San do that?" he asked in shock. "Because, because the black person told him to!" Heiwa exclaimed, glad to finally get that off her chest. The younger Otsutsuki looked confused, "black person?" he asked. Trembling, the red-haired teenager quickly explained about Black Zetsu and what it had done and said. Hagoromo was furious, while her daughter sobbed that she was sorry over and over again. Asura was shocked. Indra had become the way he was because this black person, who had kidnapped and hurt him as a baby had threatened to kill him?

So his Nii-San _did_ still care! Suddenly, there was a loud boom from the nearby mountains. A huge ball of purple Chakra shot into the air, heading straight for the house! The attack landed in the center of the compound. Hagoromo, Hiewa and Asura ran up to the front gate, Asura gasping when he saw his fiancé on the ground, "Kanna! Are you alright?" he demanded, kneeling down to check on the young woman. "Yeah" the blue-haired girl replied. Hagoromo stared at the purple glow in the mountains with a heavy heart. _'Why?'_ she thought, ' _why did it change nothing?'_ Indra walked forwards, surrounded by a formless shroud of purple Chakra. Asura gasped, while Heiwa shrunk behind her mother, "Nii-San!" the youngest Otsutsuki exclaimed, standing up and running over to his older brother.

Hagoromo followed quickly, "Indra, what are you doing?!" she demanded. "Why?" Indra asked, "why did you not choose me as you successor?" he demanded. "I did choose you as my successor Indra, I chose all three of you" the Sage replied. The black-haired young man narrowed his red and black eyes, "exactly! You do not trust me! You may have chosen all three of us, but I know that you really only wanted Asura to be the heir! That is why you wanted to wait for him to come home before naming any of us as your Successor- you think I am not worthy to be your heir, even though I did everything I could to make you proud of me! Everything! I trained and trained and learned all I could, but it is still not enough, is it!" Indra yelled.

Hagoromo flinched, "that is not true, I have always loved all of you equally!" she replied. Heiwa stepped up then, "Indra, please stop!" she begged. The black-haired young man narrowed his eyes, "I told them about the black person and how he black-mailed us into getting stronger- you do not have to do this!" Heiwa cried. "You- you betrayed me!" Indra exclaimed, causing his twin to step back in fear. Asura stepped in front of his older sister, seeing the pure terror in her eyes and body language, "leave her alone, Indra!" he demanded "I do not want to fight you Nii-San!" he cried. The Uchiha's Ancestor smirked, "oh, fight me? You have become quite brave Asura, while you," he directed his gaze to his terrified twin, "have just become pathetic, look at you, cowering behind our powerless younger brother like a weakling" he sneered.

Heiwa looked down. It was true. She was once her brother's equal, but now he was far too powerful for her to stand up to, let alone fight. "Asura, do you really think that you can take me on?!" Indra demanded as he sent a huge wave of lightning towards the group. Asura looked down at his hands, hoping that he would get this right. He formed three hand signs and a massive spinning shield of wind appeared around them, blocking the lightning, before dissipating. Indra looked slightly shocked that Asura had blocked that. The youngest Otsutsuki held his hands apart, and a large ball of Chakra appeared in between his palms, with five smaller spinning balls of Chakra inside it. "What?" Indra asked. Asura ran forwards with a battle cry then threw his technique.

Indra used the power of his eyes, and black flames appeared around his younger brother's Jutsu. However, when the flames cleared the five smaller balls of Chakra were still their, and all were heading towards Indra. The balls impacted with the purple Chakra surrounding his older brother, causing a huge explosion. When the smoke had cleared, the top half of a giant purple skeleton had appeared, protecting Indra from the attack. Asura stared at it in shock. "You have become quite brave Asura," Indra repeated, "but it is not enough to defeat me!" he exclaimed as his Susanoo gained muscles, flesh and armour.

It then grew larger than the nearby mountains, with an entire body and a sword. Indra floated in a gem on the Chakra constructs forehead. Heiwa stared up in horror, "here I come" the Otsutsuki said, with a sick grin on his face, as his Susanoo stepped forwards. Asura looked horrified, "so tell me Asura, can you match this?!" Indra called. " _This_ is power!" he exclaimed, as he lowered the giant's foot right where his mother and siblings were standing. There was an explosion of dust and debris, however, both Hagoromo and Asura managed to leap out of the way in time, Asura carrying Heiwa who was paralyzed with fear. The two landed a ways back, and Asura passed his older sister to his mother, "look after her" he said, turning back to his deranged older brother.

He formed the same attack as before, as Indra had his Chakra construct fly forwards. Asura threw the Jutsu, however, Indra's Susanoo drew its sword and knocked the attack into the mountains. Asura gasped, as his brother landed right in front of him, knocking him backwards and he cried out, "Asura!" Kanna cried, worried about her fiancé. The young man landed a few meters away on his back, and glared up at the construct as it walked forwards once more. Asura painfully pushed himself into a sitting position as his brothers Susanoo stopped in front of him. The elder of the Otsutsuki siblings stared down at them. Suddenly a fire Jutsu hit the construct. Turning around, Asura saw everyone standing together, "Kaa-Sama, everyone!" he gasped.

All the people had their hands in different hand signs, ready to launch an attack. Hagoromo held up her Shakujo and pointed it at her eldest son, "everyone! Join forces!" she exclaimed. Everyone shot attack after attack at Indra's Susanoo, even Heiwa. She would do whatever she could to help her younger brother. "You have the audacity to point your sword at me?" Indra asked. He had his Susanoo draw its sword and sliced at the air in front of him. Hagoromo and everyone else covered their heads as the powerful attack blew past them. "The powerless can band together, but in the end it means nothing" Indra said, closing his eyes.

"Kaa-Sama, let me perform the last rights for your useless ideals!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes and swinging his sword down towards the group. "Nii-San!" Asura and Heiwa screamed at the same time. The slash from the Chakra sword cut all the way back to the lake behind the compound. When the dust cleared however, he saw that the sword had been stopped by Asura of all people. Six Truth-Seeking balls floated around the young man, with two formed into rods that he was using to block the ethereal blade, and one formed into a shield that was protecting everyone else. "The power of the Six Paths? You inherited it?!" Indra demanded. Asura clenched his teeth as he held back the ethereal sword.

"Ridiculous!" the young man exclaimed, a second sword forming in his other hand. Indra swung it down onto the first sword, increasing the pressure. Asura grunted and his muscles strained under the pressure as the ground underneath him gave way and he was forced down to his waist in rock. Hagoromo turned around to face her disciples as well as Asura's friends and Heiwa, "everyone, lend Asura your strength!" she cried. Everyone nodded in determination. They all joined hands and focused their Chakra as one. The blue Chakra coalesced together into the form of a hand, which reached out to Hagoromo's youngest. It placed itself on his shoulder, and suddenly Asura was in an entirely different place.

He looked behind him to see his mother with her hand on his shoulder, "Kaa-Sama" he said. "Asura, Chakra was originally given as a power to link people together, and it still can be" she said. The young man looked around himself and saw everyone standing around him holding hands and smiling confidently at him. They all believed that he could do it. _'I can feel it,'_ he thought, _'I feel everyone's-'_ "power!" he cried, as the Chakra entered him and suddenly, he could feel a new strength awakening within his body. His entire being overflowed with Chakra, so much so that it was visible as a blue aura around his body. Four Chakra arms emerged from the young man's body and grabbed the swords, lifting them up effortlessly. Indra gasped, "what?" he demanded.

Focusing, Asura clapped his hands together, and suddenly a truly massive construct appeared. It was made entirely out of wood and dwarfed Indra's Susanoo. It was a Buddha attached to a wooden back with 1000 arms spread out around and behind it. "What is this?" Indra asked himself. Asura landed in the head of the Buddha, his hands still clapped together, "Nii-San!" he cried as the wooden construct rushed forwards. "Asuraaa!" Indra cried, his Susanoo also rushing forwards. "This is- the power of our bond!" the younger Otsutsuki cried, as he commanded the wooden fists to pummel Indra's Chakra construct into the ground. Indra cried out as he struggled to maintain the Susanoo and not get crushed by the thousand hands coming at him from all sides.

An explosion rocked the area as the Susanoo cracked and shattered.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Indra attempted to push himself up from the ground, gasping in pain. "Nii-San!" Asura cried, while Heiwa ran up as well, "Indra!" she cried. "Stay away!" the black-haired man yelled angrily. Both stopped and stared at their brother, "Heiwa, you traitor, I will never forgive you!" he ground out. The red-haired teenager flinched and tears welled up in her eyes. Indra then turned to his younger brother, "Asura, I will never- acknowledge Ninshu or you!" he cried, as lightning sparked around his body and he vanished in a lightning Shushin. Hagoromo walked up and wrapped her arms around her daughter, "at least we are all still alive" she said, as Heiwa began to cry at losing her twin.

"How in the world am I going to explain this to your father when he comes home?" she wondered, though in reality, her heart was breaking. She had tried so hard to stop this from happening, even named all three of her children her successors, and it still changed nothing! Hagoromo closed her Rinnegan eyes, already praying for the day when Naruto and Sasuke would end this ridiculous feud.

To Be Continued


	41. Chapter 41

A few weeks later, Heiwa and Asura were training together, however, it seemed that Heiwa had changed. She no longer put much effort into her training, only the bare minimum. She also spent a lot of time in her bedroom alone. Hagoromo told her son that his older sister was going through depression from not only Indra's betrayal, but also from being separated from her twin. The older red-haired woman understood her daughter a lot more than she knew, as she had also found it hard at first to be separated from Hamura, however, having her husband and children to look after really helped in the separation. However, she also knew that it was different for Heiwa, as Indra did not just decide to travel- he literally cut off all bonds to the people he'd once called 'family'.

His love for them, all of them had vanished, to be replaced by hatred for both them and their beliefs. This hurt the eldest Otsutsuki, and she truly grieved for her son, however, both she and Asura knew that the one suffering the most was Heiwa. She had lost the love and trust of her beloved twin brother and it tore her apart inside. To the dark red-haired teen, Indra had been her other half, her strength, her balance. When he left, proclaiming to hate her, it had left a deep emotional scar on the young woman, so much so, that she no longer cared about things like 'training', though the Sage was glad that her daughter still trained a little, enough to keep healthy at least.

Hagoromo was also glad and slightly shocked by the results of a conversation that the two women had had just a few days after Indra's departure, * _flashback*: Hagoromo walked quietly towards Indra and Heiwa's old bedroom, now solely for the female twin. The woman had asked her daughter if she had wanted a room of her own, as staying in the room she had shared with her twin might cause unnecessary pain. However, the dark red-haired teenager had just shaken her head, and replied, "no Kaa-Sama, I would like to stay here- I have many good memories of my brother, and if I leave then this room will only become a holder of bad ones, I want to remember Indra as he was, not as what he became". It was a very mature response and something that she had expected of the old Heiwa, but this new one?_

 _Well, it didn't matter, as long as staying in that room didn't hurt her baby anymore than she already had been, then Hagoromo didn't mind. As she reached the door where her two oldest children used to sleep, and which now only housed one occupant, the sage gently knocked on the door, "Heiwa-Chan, it is me, may I come in?" she asked gently. There was no noise from the other side of the door for a moment, and Hagoromo was just about to scan for the young woman's Chakra, when there was a small and subdued voice from the other side of the door: "come in Kaa-Sama". The sage slid open the wooden door and slowly entered. What she saw left her internally startled. Where-as every other time she had visited her child previously, Heiwa had been lying on her bed silently, un-moving and seeming to have lost all energy, this time it seemed that she was making a consciousness effort to sit up in bed._

 _Whipping away any shock that might have shown on her face, Hagoromo slowly closed the door behind her with a soft click. She smiled, "Heiwa-Chan, you are up" she stated gently, walking over to the bed. "Yes, well," the teenager started in a breathy tone, "I figured that I had spent enough time lying on my bed and not doing anything. After all, if I do not train, then I will never become strong enough to help Otouto- since you did make both of us your heirs, and I am not doing what I should be, however, I do not wish to become the most powerful, like my brother, what I want is to help Asura- I do not believe in Indra's philosophy of power being all that you need, I was as strong as my brother before, and yet- I could not stop him from leaving. Asura on the other hand, was able to fight on equal ground with Indra, with nothing but determination, and everyone else's support. However, even with all my power, I was still not strong enough to save him. Since this is so-" the young woman looked her mother straight in the eyes, her own eyes blazing with what would later be known as the 'Will Of Fire', "I will believe in love also- I already thought that cooperation was the key to peace, but now I see that Otouto was right- love is what will bring true peace to this world, and if I can find a stronger power through that love, then I will not give up, ever!" she cried._

 _Staring into her only daughters eyes, Hagoromo felt her heart swell with pride, love and joy for her child. The older woman wrapped her arms around her baby. Heiwa was slightly shocked by the sudden action and tensed, "Kaa-Sama?" she asked, confused. Hagoromo kept her eyes closed as she held her baby. A few tears slipped down her cheeks, "I am so proud of you my daughter- you will attain powers one day that not even Indra can comprehend" she replied happily. The teenager smiled back and embraced her mother, crying slightly as well, "I love you Kaa-Sama, why can Indra not understand something so simple?" she asked. The older red-head stroked her child's hair, "because he has no need of it- Indra only sees his own power and the things that he needs to gain more- things like bonds and love are two things that he has abandoned on his quest for more power- but_ _ **I**_ _know, that power attained alone and selfishly, will not bring peace to this world, and that is something that your twin brother, with all his genius and all his strength is completely and utterly blind to" she replied. Heiwa had changed for the better. Now if only she could convince her oldest son of those words.*End flashback*_.

And boy, did she know that. Even with what Heiwa had said, she was still emotionally frail at the moment, and training was something that she found hard to concentrate on. So they were starting light. Hagoromo had found that doing something which forced Heiwa to focus and have to actively concentrate, helped her child to find focus. She also had both Heiwa and Asura meditate daily, focusing their minds and Chakra, which helped both younger Otsutsuki to concentrate and stay calm. It was during this current meditation session, that Asura would awaken another power, one that explained a lot of things from the young man's childhood. As they focused, Asura decided to test a theory he had been tinkering with. He already knew that he could sense his own Chakra while in deep meditation. However, he had been wondering about something for a while now.

With his unusually strong connection to nature, what would happen if he were to turn his senses _outward_? Focusing on the world around him, Asura flinched. The world, or rather nature was _teeming_ with Chakra! The animals, the plants, even the rocks and streams were overflowing with a powerful kind of Chakra that he had never felt before. The 16 year-old's mouth was slightly agape, this was unreal. It was more Chakra than he had ever felt, and it was literally _everywhere!_ There was so much, that now that he was in tune with it, he could even feel it vibrating in the air against his skin! He decided to see what happened if he were to mix this new type of Chakra with his own. And so, the young man drew upon it, adding it to his own reserves. Asura was giddy with excitement, his entire body was flowing with power. He was sure that if he had known about this during his battle with Indra, he would have been able to subdue his brother easily, and he wouldn't have put everyone in danger.

Meanwhile Hagoromo was panicking. Her son had become unusually still during meditation, but before she could snap him out of it, something happened that caused her eyes to widen in horror. Asura had begun drawing upon Nature Chakra. Before she could snap him out of it however, the teenager had begun to draw on an alarmingly _huge_ amount. Since she had had no problem learning to control Nature Chakra, Gamamaru had not told her about the repercussions of drawing in too much. But the woman knew, that if she had, she would have turned to stone. And right now, Asura was _defiantly_ absorbing too much! The thing was, he didn't even seem to find it hard, like now that his Chakra was at an acceptable strength, it just _flowed_ into him.

Standing up quickly, the sage shot over and placed one hand on her son's body, absorbing the nature Chakra with her Preta path, then expelling it quickly. By now Heiwa had sensed that something was wrong and had opened her eyes, only to stare in horror at the amount of Chakra her younger brother seemed to drawing in, and the amount that her mother was absorbing and expelling from him. What was going on!

To Be Continued


	42. Chapter 42

After that meditation scare, Hagoromo had decided that both she and her son needed to take a trip to the Land of the Toads and meet with Gamamaru. She was worried about how his ability to passively absorb Nature Chakra would affect Asura. Sennin-Sama and the rest of her family agreed that the young man needed to learn to control his ability as well. So after they had packed up, with both Otsutsuki explaining the situation to their student and the Biju and letting them know that Tsukuyomi and Kagura would be taking over their training for a while, the two left their home. They walked through the forest for about half an hour, before Asura spoke up, "Kaa-Sama, where is the Land of the Toads?" he asked curiously. "It is hard to explain, but you will see when we get their" she replied. The young man nodded, "hai, but are they really as much like us as you say?" he wondered.

Hagoromo nodded, "hai, the toads are good friends of mine, especially Gamamaru, who was my own teacher in the Sage arts- I am sure that he will be able to teach you to control this ability and use it to help people Asura, there is nothing to worry about, alright?" she replied softly. Asura nodded, though he looked unsure, "hai Kaa-Sama". The woman smiled and placed her hand on the teenagers shoulder. When the brown-haired teenager looked up at her, he was met with his mothers soft smile, "I know you will be able to do it- when you have mastered control of Nature Chakra, you will be more than strong enough to protect everyone that you love, I know it" she said. Asura perked up a little and smiled a real smile, though it was smaller than his usual ones, "right!" he exclaimed, nodding.

Hagoromo smiled wider, "that is my boy" she said and kissed his forehead. The youngest Otsutsuki blushed scarlet, "K-Kaa-Sama!" he spluttered, "I am not a baby anymore!" he cried indignantly. The red-haired woman giggled softly, "I know that you are not a baby Asura, but you are still my child, and my youngest one at that, I deserve to love you for as long as possible, do I not?' she asked with a wink. Asura looked down, thinking about his older brother, "yes, I suppose that you do" he replied, eyes becoming sad. Hagoromo frowned. She hadn't meant to make her son feel upset or guilty of the fact that he hadn't been able to stop Indra- not at all. But it ended up sounding that way. The red-haired woman sighed silently, sometimes she wondered why she was ever reborn as Hagoromo, when all she seemed to be able to do was what her predecessor did and worse.

The two stopped in front of a river, "well, here we are" the woman said. Asura looked around, "um, Kaa-Sama, I do not mean to be rude, but there is nothing here except trees and a river" he said, staring at her with confusion. "Well, yes there is, if you do not look" Hagoromo replied, walking over to the river, "let us go for a swim Asura-Kun" she said. Before the youngest Otsutsuki could reply, the red-haired woman jumped into the water, "Kaa-Sama!" Asura cried. After two minutes of his mother not coming up for air, the teenager began to get really worried. "Alright, I have two choices here- either I can go home and let everyone know that my mother drowned herself in the river, or I can trust in her judgement and follow Kaa-Sama" he said to himself.

The brown-haired boy stared at the river for another moment before he steeled himself, took a deep breath and jumped in.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

After swimming down into the strangely deep river, Asura began to see a light above, below him? he was no longer sure which was up or down and for a moment experienced vertigo. This, coupled with the fact that he got distracted, caused him to lose his breath. The teenager panicked, he couldn't breathe! Suddenly, a figure appeared in his blurry vision. He couldn't tell who it was, but the person grabbed him and began pulling him through the water towards the light. It got closer and closer, before- the young man found that he could breathe again. He took a huge gasp of air before beginning to calm down.

"Are you alright Asura?" he distantly heard his mother ask. Sticking his fingers in his ears, Asura attempted to rid them of the water that was filling them and making everything sound distant, "y-yes, I am alright Kaa-Sama" he replied. That was when he opened his eyes and looked around. They widened slightly in shock at seeing how different everything here was to what he was used to. The sky looked normal, but all the plants were huge and there were strange waterfalls that looked like giant twisted trees with the water falling from holes in the ends. "Is this?" the teenager asked. "This is the Land Of The Toads young man, and the place where your mother learned how to utilize Nature Chakra" a voice replied. Looking around in confusion, Asura found that there was no one around, "wha-" he started to say, but was cut off by another voice, "don't tease the boy Tou-Chan, we're down here" a distinctly female voice called.

Looking down, Asura gasped at seeing two toads sitting before him on the ground. The one with what looked like curly purple hair waved, "hello there, my name is Shima, but you can both call me Kaa-Chan, and this is my husband, Fukasaku" she said, introducing both herself and her husband. The male toad with naturally white hair waved, "hey, you can call me Tou-Chan, I don't mind" he said. The brown-haired young man felt his left eyebrow twitch, "talking toads," he said in a monotone, "why not?" he asked. "Excuse me?" Hagoromo said. The two small toads turned to the woman, who bowed, "hello, it is a pleasure to meet you both, my name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Gamamaru was my teacher in the Sage arts when I was younger, and we were hoping to speak with him, it is of the utmost importance" she explained, standing up straight.

Fukasaku nodded, "he has been expecting you, come with us" he replied, both toads turning and hopping away. Hagoromo began following the two, while Asura followed a moment later. As they traveled, Fukasaku turned to Asura, "you boy, what is your name?" he asked. The brown-haired teenager turned to look down at the green toad, "huh? Oh, my name is Asura Otsutsuki, um, sir" he replied. Fukasaku shook his head, "no, no boy, did you not hear what I told you mother? Call me Tou-Chan" he insisted. Asura blinked, "alright, Tou-Chan" he replied, unsure. The young toad nodded, "that's better Asura-Chan, thank you" he replied. The young man blushed again "A-Asura-Chan?" he asked while his left eyebrow twitched slightly, "not even Kaa-Sama calls me that" he said, more to himself than anyone else.

The toad chuckled, "well, you are a child to me, what-with how old I am compared to you humans" he replied. Asura looked down at that. Well, that _was_ true. "A-alright, you can call me-" he paused and blushed again, "Asura-Chan" he mumbled, feeling more like a child than ever before. Fukasaku smiled, "good boy" he replied, while the youngest Otsutsuki felt more embarrassed than he ever had. Meanwhile, Hagoromo was having some girl time with Shima. "Your son is very well behaved Hagoromo-Chan" she stated. Hagoromo smiled softly, "yes, he is, I am very proud of how far he has come since he was a child, he used to be a lot more awkward at this kind of thing" she explained. Shima nodded, "I see, well then, you have every right to be proud of your boy, and I hope he continues to grow and excel" the female toad replied. The red-haired woman smiled wider, "so do I" she said softly.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

When they got to the building where Gamamaru was waiting, Hagoromo smiled as a wave of nostalgia began to flood her. However she couldn't help but frown slightly. She really missed her twin brother. The first time she came here, Hamura was by her side, and this time he was who knows where. The red-haired woman felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she knew that she'd see him again, plus she had more important things to worry about at the moment, so she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and took a deep breath to calm herself. Asura, however, had never been here before, and couldn't help but marvel at all the new sights around him.

He loved visiting new places, which was why he had been fine with leaving home to go on his journey to deal with the Divine Tree, and why he had been so enraptured during his travels with his family and followers when he was young. Before long the group had arrived in the room where Hagoromo remembered that the memory stone had sat. Sitting on the chair behind the large crystal was a large toad, with his eyes seemingly closed. Hagoromo spoke up then, "Gamamaru" she called. The toad opened his eyes and looked down at them, "ah, sister, it's you, so you've arrived- and your son?" he asked. The red-haired woman smiled, "he is here, this is my youngest son Asura, and one of my heirs" she replied. The large toad nodded, "yes, I saw that, I must say, I was quite surprised that you chose all three of them together- but then again, that's so like you, that I shouldn't have expected anything else" he said with a smile.

Hagoromo smiled sadly at the reminder of her third heir and oldest son, "yes, well, we did not come here to talk about Indra you know" she replied. Gamamaru nodded, "yes, I know," he peered down at Asura, and the teenager suddenly had the feeling that he was being _inspected_ more than looked at. "So, this is the child that can passively absorb Natural Energy, or Nature Chakra as the people of your age have come to call it" he stated. The Sage of the Six Paths nodded, "yes, that is correct, earlier today Asura demonstrated the ability to gather Nature Chakra with frightening ease and speed when we meditated together. However, I am sure that drawing upon the amount that Asura-Kun was at the time was not very good" she replied seriously. Gamamaru nodded seriously, "you're right Hagoromo, drawing upon too much Nature Chakra can overwhelm the body and turn the user to stone permanently" he explained.

Asura's eyes widened in horror. He hadn't known _that_! he could have been turned to stone if his mother hadn't removed and expelled all the Chakra he had been gathering? No wonder she had been pale and shaky when he had finally come out of his meditation. "If we don't teach Asura to control this ability soon, he could either turn to stone, or suffer an even worse fate" the large red toad said. Both Otsutsuki frowned, a worse fate. Hagoromo was the one who voiced their shared confusion, "what do you mean by a worse fate than turning to stone?" she asked. She had an idea where this was going, but she had to ask anyway. The Toad Sage took a breath and expelled it, "there is a family of people in the western part of the world. Their Clan has the ability to passively absorb Nature Chakra and balance it with their own bodies," he began.

Hagoromo knew where this was going. She knew about this Clan from her previous life when she watched Naruto Shippuden. It was Jugo's Clan. "This Clan is the Murayachi Clan, however, despite being able to balance the energies within their bodies so that they don't turn to stone, the members of this Clan cannot control the mental side effects, and when they absorb enough, it causes their bodies to change physically and alters their minds, sending them into murderous rampages where they kill and destroy anyone and anything they can get their hands on," Asura looked horrified by this knowledge.

His face was pale and his eyes were wide. The teens entire body was shaking violently, and he was breathing sporadically, "a-a-a-a-a-are y-y-you s-saying, that, I-I-I will, end up like that?" he asked. Tears welled up in his eyes and Asura collapsed to the ground and began sobbing, "no! I cannot become like that! I will not be a mindless killer! I-I, I will not hurt my Kaa-Sama or my Tou-Sama or my Nee-Sama, or, o-or-" the teenager broke down, "I do not want to kill everyone! I would never forgive myself!" he cried, sobbing hysterically, while Hagoromo instantly wrapped her arms around her baby and held him while he broke down in her arms. "K-Kaa-Sama! Please do not let me become like that, please! I am begging you!" he was all but screaming now, so lost in his terror that he couldn't even hear the soothing words that his mother was whispering to him.

Hagoromo looked up as she cradled her terrified child in her arms, " _please_ brother, help my son learn to control this power- I beg you, help him be free from this terror, I cannot watch another child fall into madness Gamamaru" she said, desperate to help her child in any way possible. The large red toad nodded, "hai, I will help him, I will do everything in my power to teach this boy to control his ability to absorb Nature Chakra, I promise" he replied. Asura was slowly calming down from his terror and heard what was said, at least Gamamaru's part. He smiled slightly at that. Once he learned to control his ability to absorb Nature Chakra, his family would be safe.

To Be Continued


	43. Chapter 43

After agreeing to help Hagoromo's youngest with his Sage training, Gamamaru instructed Fukasaku to be Asura's teacher, as he himself was too busy at the moment. The small green toad hopped through Mount Myoboku with the two Otsutsuki following. Soon enough they reached a large pond and a waterfall of some kind of strange brownish yellow liquid. Fukasaku turned to the boy, "this is the Toad Oil pond, this oil is basically a natural sponge, allowing anyone it comes into contact with to absorb Nature Chakra as easily as breathing- you probably won't have to worry about that part, but it will be easier if we are near it for now" he explained.

Asura nodded. "Now, sit down and concentrate, I want to see exactly what you can do Asura-Chan" he requested. The teenager nodded and sat before the pond. He got into his meditating position and opened his senses to the world around him. He almost fainted when he did. With the amount of Nature Chakra that was in the surrounding area and how easy it was for him to absorb, he just about overloaded his Chakra system without even trying. Before his body could begin turning to stone however, Asura was hit in the head with something-hard. His concentration broken, as well as his position, the brown-haired young man fell to the ground, "oof! Hey, what was that for?" he demanded, while rubbing his head.

"Hagoromo-Chan was right, you're taking in way too much Nature Chakra, especially here" Fukasaku replied, crossing his arms, while holding a black rod in his hand, most likely what he had been hit with. Hagoromo helped her son to his feet again, "we know that, that is the whole reason that we came here- what I need to do is learn how to keep that from happening all the time, and if I do need to use it, stop when I have drawn in enough" Asura replied. "hmmm, well, I'm not exactly sure how we should go about doing this, as you're the first person we've come into contact with who can passively absorb Nature Chakra" he spoke aloud. The youngest Otsutsuki paled, "are you saying that you cannot help me?" he asked worriedly.

The toad shook his head, "not necessarily Asura-Chan, I'm saying that it's not something we've had to deal with before, so we have to figure out a new way to go about it" he explained. Hagoromo placed her hand comfortingly on her sons shoulder, causing Asura to turn his attention to her, "I know that you will be able to do it Musuko- after all it is a parents duty to have unwavering faith in their child" she said with a smile. The teenager frowned, "Kaa-Sama" he said softly. Then the young man's eyes filled with determination and he clenched his fists, "I may be a stupid kid who cannot do anything right without working for it, but even I know that to do something hard you cannot give up!" he said. The teenager looked down at Fukasaku, "I am going to keep trying until I can stop when I have enough, and not draw in any Nature Chakra if I do not need any, no matter how long it takes!" he cried with unwavering determination.

The young toad smiled and nodded, "that's what I like to hear, you have a firm resolve Asura-Chan," Tou-Chan replied. Asura nodded, and got back into his meditation position, "let us continue" he said. Meanwhile Hagoromo smiled down at her son _'Asura-Kun, you have grown up so much since you were a child- I am so proud of you and I love you so much my precious son'_ she thought with pride.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Asura spent a lot of time sitting at the Toad Oil Pond, in a mediative state with his eyes closed, trying to get his ability under control. Right now the boy was struggling to keep from drawing any more than he needed in. "Focus Asura-Chan! You need to stop when you're full, otherwise you could hurt someone close to you" Fukasaku ordered. The brown-haired young man's eyebrow was constantly twitching from the continued effort to keep from drawing upon the Chakra around him. He was trying so hard, but his Chakra seemed to be a beacon for the Natural Energy of the world. Now that it was strong enough to take the addition, his body seemed to be yearning for it.

 _'Nnngrnn, I have to get this under control!'_ he thought desperately.

 ** _ĤŎ_**

Meanwhile, Hagoromo had returned home to continue going about her daily activities. Right now, she was mending some of her children's clothes that had gotten torn during training. It was a beautiful Autumn day, though it was getting colder as time went on, so she knew it would be getting into winter soon. She paused in her activities and looked up at the sky, _'I wonder how Asura-Kun is doing in his training. I hope that it is going well, for all our sakes'_ she thought to herself. Suddenly she heard a sound nearby. The woman placed down her sewing and stood up.

She silently walked to where she heard the sound coming from. Placing her hand on the ground, she whispered: "summoning: Animal Path". A small chameleon with Rinnegan eyes appeared on the ground before her. It looked up at her expectantly, "go see what is going on over there, but do not be seen" she whispered. The Summon nodded and turned invisible before crawling over to where the voices were. Closing her eyes, Hagoromo once again whispered three words: "Six Paths Technique". When she opened her eyes again, she was looking up from the ground, so she knew that her connection to the Chameleon was stable.

Looking up, she saw Heiwa standing with a white-haired man. The man smiled gently at her daughter, "I hope that it does not seem too forward of me Heiwa-Sama, but I would like to start off by saying that I have always admired you, your strength, your convictions, everything about you," the man paused. Heiwa looked down, "thank you for your kind words, but I do not deserve them- I may have been strong before, but ever since my twin left us, I have felt- weaker. I do not have the same convictions as I did before, nor do I possess or even value strength as much as I did- I know it is making me weaker, but-" she was cut off by the man when he gently placed his finger on her lips. Heiwa stopped speaking and looked up at the white-haired man with questioning eyes. "It is true that you are not as you once were, but I admire that as well- you have changed, and change is not always a bad thing," he paused and looked down.

"I have seen how you help your younger brother more often now, and how dedicated you are to that. I admire that also," he paused again. Heiwa frowned, "what- are you trying to say?" she asked. The man looked up at her and cupped her cheek. They both looked deep into each others eyes, before he spoke again, "what I am saying Heiwa, is that while my feelings may have been purely admiration before, they have changed," he closed his eyes, "I love you Heiwa Otsutsuki, I have for a long time now, and I would be the happiest man alive if you would love me too" he said. Hagoromo gasped. Heiwa closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Kuramitsu-San- I have begun to feel very close to you as well now, however, I am afraid that I am not in the right state of mind for a relationship at the moment- I still have my duty as Heir of Ninshu alongside my younger brother, and right now my goal is to support him however I can- for now I must focus on that, but I would like for us to get to know each other a little more, then, perhaps later, when my brother does not need my support as much- we can be together".

The woman opened her eyes and looked up at the white-haired young man. He was smiling gently, "I understand, and I also understand that you must be in a very fragile state right now, loosing your twin like you have and might not be stable enough to trust another so closely," he looked down, "but I will not abandon you Heiwa-Chan, rather-" he looked up again and his eyes met hers, "I will wait for you, until the day when we can be together" he lent down a gave the red-haired woman a soft kiss on the cheek before pulling back, "until that day" he whispered as he turned and walked away. The Chameleon crawled into the bushes before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Hagoromo opened her eyes and smiled. So Heiwa had an admirer huh?

The Sage was glad that her daughter had decided to wait until her mind was clear before deciding to pursue a relationship. It was a very wise choice. However Hagoromo also felt happy that Heiwa had someone who loved her unconditionally and was understanding enough to wait. There weren't that many people around who were like that. She turned her gaze once more to the sky. Time was moving forwards, and she was so grateful to be a part of it.

To Be Continued


End file.
